Total cost | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

In economics, total cost (TC) is the minimum dollar cost of producing some quantity of output. This is the total economic cost of production and is made up of variable cost, which varies according to the quantity of a good produced and includes inputs such as labor and raw materials, plus fixed cost, which is independent of the quantity of a good produced and includes inputs that cannot be varied in the short term such as buildings and machinery, including possibly sunk costs. Total cost in economics includes the total opportunity cost (benefits received from the next-best alternative) of each factor of production as part of its fixed or variable costs. The additional total cost of one additional unit of production is called marginal cost. The marginal cost can also be calculated by finding the derivative of total cost or variable cost. Either of these derivatives work because the total cost includes variable cost and fixed cost, but fixed cost is a constant with a derivative of 0. The total cost of producing a specific level of output is the cost of all the factors of production. Often, economists use models with two inputs: physical capital, with quantity K and labor, with quantity L. Capital is assumed to be the fixed input, meaning that the amount of capital used does not vary with the level of production in the short run. The rental price per unit of capital is denoted r. Thus, the total fixed cost equals Kr. Labor is the variable input, meaning that the amount of labor used varies with the level of output. In the short run, the only way to vary output is by varying the amount of the variable input. Labor usage is denoted L and the per unit cost, or wage rate, is denoted w, so the variable cost is Lw. Consequently, total cost is fixed cost (FC) plus variable cost (VC), or TC = FC + VC = Kr+Lw. In the long run, however, both capital usage and labor usage are variable. The long run total cost for a given output will generally be lower than the short run total cost, because the amount of capital can be chosen to be optimal for the amount of output.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (3)

Modeling and mitigating supply chain disruptions as a bilevel network flow problem

Anna Timonina-Farkas, René Yves Glogg

Years of globalization, outsourcing and cost cutting have increased supply chain vulnerability calling for more effective risk mitigation strategies. In our research, we analyze supply chain disruptio

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG2022

Modeling Supply Chain Disruptions: A Network Flow Approach

René Yves Glogg

Globalization, outsourcing and cost optimization have all contributed to increased supply chain vulnerability, yet our understanding of effective mitigation strategies remains limited. In our research

EPFL2021

2012

Related concepts (9)

Related courses (21)

CS-728: Topics on Datacenter Design

Modern datacenters with thousands of servers and multi-megawatt power budgets form the backbone of our digital universe. ln this course, we will survey a broad and comprehensive spectrum of datacenter

MGT-454: Principles of microeconomics

The course allows students to get familiarized with the basic tools and concepts of modern microeconomic analysis. Based on graphical reasoning and analytical calculus, it constantly links to real eco

PENS-212: Constructive second hand

Construire seconde main c'est prendre l'économie circulaire comme une opportunité, pour concevoir mieux en récupérant les éléments issus de la déconstruction, à coût environnemental minimum. Cette sem

Related lectures (147)

Cost

In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is counted as cost. In this case, money is the input that is gone in order to acquire the thing. This acquisition cost may be the sum of the cost of production as incurred by the original producer, and further costs of transaction as incurred by the acquirer over and above the price paid to the producer.

Variable cost

Variable costs are costs that change as the quantity of the good or service that a business produces changes. Variable costs are the sum of marginal costs over all units produced. They can also be considered normal costs. Fixed costs and variable costs make up the two components of total cost. Direct costs are costs that can easily be associated with a particular cost object. However, not all variable costs are direct costs. For example, variable manufacturing overhead costs are variable costs that are indirect costs, not direct costs.

Total cost

Working Fluids for Heating, Cooling and Power Generation ME-459: Thermal power cycles and heat pump systems

Covers the design and selection of working fluids for heating, cooling, and power generation, emphasizing the importance of balancing performance, safety, and sustainability.

Financial Management: Leverage and Cost Analysis MGT-481: Financial & managerial accounting

Explores leverage, cost analysis, breakeven sales, and contribution margin in financial management.

Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis: Management Control MGT-510: Management control

Explores Cost-Volume-Profit analysis, cost behavior, breakeven analysis, and business applications.