In: Economics
You are operating a firm in a perfectly competitive market. In the short run, you have fixed costs of $30. Your variable costs are given in the following table:
Q |
VC |
0 |
0 |
1 |
100 |
2 |
150 |
3 |
180 |
4 |
220 |
5 |
300 |
6 |
390 |
If the market price is $56, what is the profit-maximizing level of output?
We know,
Total Cost (TC) = Variable Cost (VC) + Fixed Cost (FC)
Profit = Price*Quantity - TC
As given,
Price = $56
FC = $30
So, Using above formula and table as given in question :
Q | VC | TC = VC + 30 | Profit |
0 | 0 | 30 | (56*0) - 30 = -30 |
1 | 100 | 130 | (56*1) - 130 = -74 |
2 | 150 | 180 | (56*2) - 180 = -68 |
3 | 180 | 210 | (56*3) - 210 = -42 |
4 | 220 | 250 | (56*4) - 250 = -26 |
5 | 300 | 330 | (56*5) - 330 = -50 |
6 | 390 | 420 | (56*6) - 420 = -84 |
So,
From above calculations we can see that maximum profit of -$26 is at Q = 4.
So, Profit maximizing level of output is 4