Cost Concept

Introduction: What is the Cost Concept? 

Cost is the total of all expenses. It is expressed in monetary terms. The cost concept in economics states that all accounts are recorded in the book of accounts at their purchase price. This includes the cost of acquisition, transportation, and installation and not at its market price. The producer has to incur costs to earn revenues. The producer allows the outflow of the money for the sale of the product. After the sale of the commodity, the business gains an inflow of money. 

In other words, defined in economics, the cost is the sum total of explicit cost added with implicit cost. Over the years the cost concept has evolved as more refinement was brought into the process. 

Cost = Explicit Cost + Implicit Cost 

Explicit Cost 

An explicit cost or direct cost is defined as 

“An explicit cost is a direct expense that is paid in money to others or creditors during the production of goods.” 

It also referred to costs associated with various factors used in the production of the commodity such as raw materials, labour wages, package, transportation, etc. 

Explicit costs: 

• determines the pricing of the commodity 
• helps in computing the profit that could be earned
• are traceable in nature 
• are accurate

Implicit Costs 

An implicit cost or Indirect cost can be easily defined as: 

“An implicit cost is the factor of production sacrificed by the producer for an alternative factor production. The opportunity foregone is the implicit cost.” 

These costs are also defined as the opportunity costs used in the various factors of production.

Implicit Costs: 

• It generally includes an estimated value of the product added with the profit
• The costs are not met by payments 
• Salary to the proprietor and interest on own capital are examples of such costs. 
• These costs are generally untraceable in nature 
• There is no outflow of money involved

Cost Function 

The cost function is defined as the cost functional correlation between output and the total cost. It is generally expressed as, 

C= f(q) 

Where c = cost of production, q = quantity of the output, and f is the functional relation. Different Types of Cost 

There are different types of cost concepts. 

Fixed and Variable Costs 

Also known as constant costs, fixed costs are not a function of the output. The amount of production and sale never affects these costs. The firm incurs a fixed cost, even when there is no production. Within a fixed capacity level, fixed costs do not alter with the output. These costs can control variable costs and help in analyzing the break-even analysis. Also called supplementary costs or general costs. For example, rent and interest on loans. 

Variable costs change over time. They are also defined as the function of the total output during the production of commodities. If the production is zero, the variable cost would also be zero. They can also vary proportionally with the outputs too. In the longer run, a fixed cost becomes a variable cost. 

These costs have a direct effect on cost control and determining the price of the commodity. Examples of these cost concepts are, the cost of raw materials and casual labour wages are variable costs. 

Total Cost 

It is a sum total of the Total Fixed Price and the Total variable cost. They also include the normal profit. 

TC = TFC + TVC 

Accounting and Economic Costs 

Accounting costs are the costs included in the production of the commodity. These are all the payments the firm makes for different production costs. 

It is mainly defined as the cost incurred by the producer in the course of business. These expenses also have written records.

Economic costs include accounting costs. All the direct and indirect that the entrepreneur incurs while conducting the business. It is also the sum total of the explicit and implicit costs. 

Economic profit =Total revenue – Total cost 

Outlay and opportunity costs 

Actual Costs or Outlay Costs means the actual amount of expenses incurred to produce or acquire a good or service. It is a cost which is incurred in past, incurred in the present accounting period and is likely to be incurred in future. 

Examples of this cost concept Involve Actual Expenditure of Funds. 

e.g. Wages, Rent, Interest, etc. 

On the other hand, the opportunity cost is defined as the return expected from the second-best use of resources. Opportunity costs are not recorded in the book of records. Opportunity cost is the next best alternative foregone. It draws a comparison between the policy that was selected and the policy that was rejected. 

Marginal Costs 

The marginal cost required to produce an extra unit. It is the change in total costs due to the production of one additional unit of output. 

Incremental and Decremental costs 

Sometimes there can be an increase or decrease in the total cost of the commodity as an alternative was used in any factor of production. If a choice of alternative results in increased cost, such increased costs are termed Incremental Costs. While assessing the profitability of a proposed change, the incremental costs are related to incremental revenues. Choice of alternative resulting in decreased cost, such decrease in cost is called Decremental Cost.

Conclusion

These are the various cost concepts. These concepts are very important in the decision-making of the business enterprise. This can directly impact the profitability of the firm. Learning these cost concepts and their applicability helps boost the business and the firm in total. Described above is a fair overview of the major defining factors of the concept of costs.