If a firm is in the region of diseconomies of scale, what happens to its long-run average total cost as it increases production?

Correct answer: It increases.

Explanation

This question tests the definition of diseconomies of scale, a situation where a firm becomes less efficient as it grows larger, causing its per-unit costs to rise.

Other questions

Question 1

What is the primary objective that economists typically assume for a firm, as stated in Chapter 13?

Question 2

How does Chapter 13 define 'total revenue' for a firm?

Question 3

What is the key distinction between an economist's view of costs and an accountant's view of costs?

Question 4

In the example of Caroline's Cookie Factory, her forgone income as a computer programmer is considered what type of cost by an economist?

Question 5

Why is economic profit typically smaller than accounting profit?

Question 6

In the Quick Quiz on page 262, Farmer McDonald spends 10 hours planting seeds, giving up banjo lessons he could have taught for $20 per hour. He also spends $100 on seeds. What is his total opportunity cost?

Question 7

Continuing the Quick Quiz from page 262, if Farmer McDonald's seeds yield $200 worth of crops, what is his accounting profit?

Question 8

Continuing the Quick Quiz from page 262, what is Farmer McDonald's economic profit?

Question 9

According to Chapter 13, the relationship between the quantity of inputs and the quantity of output is called the:

Question 10

What is diminishing marginal product, as described in Chapter 13?

Question 11

Using Table 1 for Caroline's Cookie Factory, what is the marginal product of the third worker?

Question 12

How is the shape of the total-cost curve related to the shape of the production function?

Question 13

In Conrad's Coffee Shop from Table 2, what is the total cost of producing 5 cups of coffee?

Question 14

What are 'fixed costs' as defined in Chapter 13?

Question 15

Using Table 2 for Conrad's Coffee Shop, what is the firm's fixed cost?

Question 16

What is the average total cost (ATC) of producing 3 cups of coffee at Conrad's Coffee Shop, according to Table 2?

Question 17

How is marginal cost (MC) defined in Chapter 13?

Question 18

From Table 2, what is the marginal cost of increasing production from 4 to 5 cups of coffee?

Question 19

What is the typical shape of a firm's average-total-cost (ATC) curve, and why?

Question 20

The marginal-cost curve intersects the average-total-cost curve at what point?

Question 21

What is the 'efficient scale' of a firm?

Question 22

In the example of Conrad's Coffee shop, what is the efficient scale of production?

Question 23

Why does the long-run average-total-cost curve differ from the short-run average-total-cost curve?

Question 24

What are 'economies of scale'?

Question 25

What is a primary reason firms might experience economies of scale at lower levels of production?

Question 26

When a firm experiences 'diseconomies of scale', what is happening?

Question 27

What are 'constant returns to scale'?

Question 28

In Figure 4's graph of Conrad's cost curves, the average fixed cost (AFC) curve is:

Question 29

In Figure 4, why does the marginal cost (MC) curve eventually rise?

Question 30

From Table 2, what is the average variable cost (AVC) of producing 2 cups of coffee?

Question 31

When a firm is making production decisions, which cost is most important to consider when deciding how much to increase or decrease production by one unit?

Question 32

What defines the relationship between short-run and long-run average total cost for a firm like Ford, as described on page 272?

Question 33

According to the example on page 272, when Ford wants to increase car production from 1,000 to 1,200 cars per day, why does its average total cost rise in the short run but not in the long run?

Question 34

In Figure 5 (Typical Cost Curves), why does the marginal cost (MC) curve first fall and then rise?

Question 35

What is the reason given on page 273 for the existence of diseconomies of scale in a firm like Ford?

Question 36

If a firm's long-run average total cost decreases as it increases output, the firm is experiencing:

Question 37

At what quantity is a firm's average total cost minimized?

Question 38

From Table 1 on page 263, what is the total cost of producing 90 cookies per hour at Caroline's factory if the factory cost is $30 per hour and worker cost is $10 per hour?

Question 39

What is the key insight from Adam Smith's visit to a pin factory, as described in the FYI box on page 273?

Question 40

A firm's total cost is divided into which two types of costs?

Question 41

If a firm produces nothing, what will its total cost be?

Question 42

In the context of Conrad's Coffee Shop (Table 2), the cost of coffee beans, milk, and sugar are examples of:

Question 43

What is the total variable cost of producing 10 cups of coffee at Conrad's Coffee Shop?

Question 44

The average fixed cost (AFC) of producing 10 cups of coffee at Conrad's Coffee Shop is:

Question 46

If a business owner says, 'I can't shut down, I have to pay my rent,' what economic concept is she failing to apply?

Question 47

What is the reason a typical firm's average variable cost (AVC) curve is U-shaped, as shown in Figure 5?

Question 48

For a firm to be profitable from an economist's standpoint, its total revenue must cover:

Question 49

According to Chapter 13, which of these is an example of an implicit cost?

Question 50

If a firm's production process exhibits diminishing marginal product, what can be said about its total-cost curve?