Question

Suppose that a small family farm sold its output for $100,000 in a given year. The family spent $25,000 on fuel; $40,000 on seed, fertilizer, and pesticides; and $25,000 on equipment, including maintenance. The family members could have earned $20,000 working at other occupations. What is the family's accounting cost? What is the family's economic cost? Could the family's economic cost ever exceed its accounting cost? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Accounting Cost

Accounting costs refers to the explicit costs which ar the actual costs related to the business venture. In this case that would be:

= Fuel costs + Seed costs + Equipment

= 25,000 + 40,000 + 25,000

= $90,000

Economic cost

This includes the accounting costs and then adds the implicit costs which are the opportunity costs of choosing the current business venture. In this case it is the $20,000 they could have been making working at other occupations.

= Accounting cost + Salary foregone

= 90,000 + 20,000

= $110,000

Economic costs will always be higher than Accounting costs because they include both the accounting costs and opportunity costs.