Average Cost

In economics, average cost or unit cost is equal to total cost divided by the number of goods produced (the output quantity, Q). It is also equal to the sum of average variable costs (total variable costs divided by Q) plus average fixed costs (total fixed costs divided by Q). Average costs may be dependent on the time period considered (increasing production may be expensive or impossible in the short term, for example). Average costs affect the supply curve and are a fundamental component of supply and demand.

Read more about Average Cost:  Short-run Average Cost, Long-run Average Cost, Relationship To Marginal Cost, Relationship Between AC, AFC, AVC and MC

Famous quotes containing the words average and/or cost:

    The average parent may, for example, plant an artist or fertilize a ballet dancer and end up with a certified public accountant. We cannot train children along chicken wire to make them grow in the right direction. Tying them to stakes is frowned upon, even in Massachusetts.
    Ellen Goodman (b. 1941)

    Keeping accounts, Sir, is of no use when a man is spending his own money, and has nobody to whom he is to account. You won’t eat less beef today, because you have written down what it cost yesterday.
    Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)