Fundamentals of Economics. Доловова Н.Н - 14 стр.

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and to be deciding whether to spend an extra year or two in school. To make this
decision, he needs to know the additional benefits that an extra year in school would
offer and the additional costs that he would incur. By comparing these marginal
benefits and marginal costs, he can evaluate whether the extra year is worthwhile.
As another example of how thinking at the margin helps decision making, con-
sider an airline deciding how much to charge passengers who fly standby. Suppose
that flying a 200-seat plane across the country costs the airline $100,000. In this case,
the average cost of each seat is $100,000/200, which is $500. One might be tempted
to conclude that the airline should never sell a ticket for less than $500.
Yet the airline can raise its profits by thinking at the margin. Suppose that a
plane is about to take off with ten empty seats. A standby passenger is waiting at the
gate willing to pay $300 for a seat. Should the airline sell it to him? Of course it
should. If the plane has empty seats, the cost of adding one more passenger is
minuscule. Although the average cost of flying a passenger is $500, the marginal
cost is merely the cost of the bag of peanuts and can of soda that the extra passenger
will consume. As long as the standby passenger pays more than the marginal cost,
selling h im a tic ket is profitable.
As these examples show, individuals and firms can make better decisions by
thinking at the margin. A rational decision maker takes an action if and only if the
marginal benefit of the action exceeds the marginal cost.
Key concepts
marginal changes – small incremental adjustments to a plan of
action
marginal cost – the increase in total cost that arises from an
extra unit of production
marginal product - the increase in output that arises from an
additional unit of output
Words to remember
margin - разница (между себестоимостью и продажной
ценой), маржа; прибыль; минимальный
возможный барыш
to involve - втягивать, вовлекать (in, with); касаться,
затрагивать
incremental - возрастающий, поднимающ ийся,
увеличивающийся
Ph.D. - (сокр. от Doctor of Philosophy) доктор философии
to incur - подвергаться (чему-либо ); навлекать на себя

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