7.2 : 固定費用と可変費用

A firm incurs various fixed and variable costs in the short run.

Fixed costs remain constant irrespective of the level of output.

For instance, consider a firm that manufactures white shirts. The salary of permanent staff, such as the salary of the supervisor, the cost of maintaining equipment like sewing machines, and rent for factory premises, are all fixed costs. These costs must be paid even if not a single article of clothing is produced.

On the other hand, variable costs change directly with the level of production. They include the wages of workers making the shirts and the costs of materials needed to make the clothes, such as fabric, buttons, and zippers. The greater the output, the higher the variable costs will be. Conversely, if there is no production, these costs will be zero.

In the short run, fixed costs are considered sunk and are not considered in the production decision. The only production cost consideration in the short run are variable costs. Only variable costs impact the firm's output decision. This includes how much output to produce and whether to even stay open for business.