Increasing and
Decreasing Returns to scale ;
A Firm is experiencing increasing returns to scale if the
average cost per unit produced decreases as the number of units
produced increases.On the other hand,there are decreasing returns
to sccale if the average cost is increasing as the number of units
produced increases.
Answer and
Explanation
- Most firms experience increasing returns to scale. For example, a Home Building
Company will experience increasing returns to scale
because of the discounts they will receive on purchasing large
quantities.As the number of homes built increases, the firm will
need to purchase larger and larger quantities of materials.In doing
so, they will receive bigger discounts because most suppliers offer
lower per-unit costs as the number of units purchased
increased.This, in turn, will result in a lower average cost per
home produced.
- While most firms are able to take advantage of increasing
returns to scale, there are some that experience decreasing
returns.For
example, Firms that Mine Natural Resources will see
Higher average costs as the quantities they mine increase. This is
because natural resources are of a finite amount.Therefore, as the
amount of mined increases, it will take longer and longer to find
more. Therefore the average cost will increase .