Author Question: What might be some of the causes and consequences of industrial concentration? Provide some ... (Read 31 times)

londonang

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 540
What might be some of the causes and consequences of industrial concentration? Provide some examples.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What is meant by the statement that optimal decisions are made at the margin?
 
  What will be an ideal response?


ntsoane kedibone

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 333
Answer to Question 1

Some industries are more concentrated than others because of technical properties of their production technologies or unique characteristics of the markets they serve. Economies of scale, which allow firms to reduce their average costs as they increase their rates of output, favor large-scale production over small-scale production. Thus, industries for which scale economies are important (e.g., auto manufacturing and petroleum refining) are expected to be more concentrated than others in which costs do not fall as rapidly as output expands (e.g., cut-and-sew apparel manufacturing). Similarly, concentration tends to be higher in industries, such as aircraft and semiconductor manufacturing, where learning curves generate substantial production-cost savings as additional units of the original model or design are made.

Answer to Question 2

In economics, the word marginal means extra or additional. Economists reason that the optimal decision is to continue any activity up to the point where the marginal benefit equals the marginal cost, so optimal decisions are made at the point where the extra benefit received from an activity is equal to the extra cost associated with that activity.



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question


 

Did you know?

Fewer than 10% of babies are born on their exact due dates, 50% are born within 1 week of the due date, and 90% are born within 2 weeks of the date.

Did you know?

Medication errors are more common among seriously ill patients than with those with minor conditions.

Did you know?

The Romans did not use numerals to indicate fractions but instead used words to indicate parts of a whole.

Did you know?

Famous people who died from poisoning or drug overdose include, Adolf Hitler, Socrates, Juan Ponce de Leon, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and John Belushi.

Did you know?

Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. About 10% of Americans older than age 40 years have diverticulosis, which, when the pouches become infected or inflamed, is called diverticulitis. The main cause of diverticular disease is a low-fiber diet.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library