In: Economics
Cardboard boxes are produced in a perfectly competitive market.
Each identical firm has a short-run total cost curve of TC = 2Q^3 -
12Q^2 + 10Q + 20 where quantity is measured in thousands of boxes
per week. The marginal cost of production is given by MC = 6Q^2
-24Q + 10. Calculate the price below which a firm in the market
will not produce
any output (the shut-down price).
In short run, firm can bear the loss of fixed cost but it will not bear the loss of variable cost. Firm will continue to produce as long as it is able recover the variable cost.
Total Variable cost =2Q^3 - 12Q^2 + 10Q
Average Variable cost (AVC) = TVC/Q
= (2Q^3 - 12Q^2 + 10Q ) / Q
= 2Q^2 - 12Q + 10
On differentiating AVC, we get minimum point
dC/dq = 4Q - 12
P = 4Q -12
Price should not fall below the minimum point of AVC.