Menu costs, Managerial Economics

Assignment Help:

Menu Costs 

Why do firms not change their prices very  frequently? Obviously, the costs of changing prices at  frequent intervals and in small amounts must be more  than the benefits obtained from such a change. Firms prefer to wait before they make price changes in relatively large amounts and in the mean time absorb the losses that they would  suffer by not changing prices. This of course presumes that the firms  have  some monopolistic price setting power and  the  losses referred to above include lower profits  than would have been possible  if prices had been raised, and not necessarily actual out-of-pocket losses.

It  is  easy to understand  this  behaviour  of monopolistically competitive firms through the example of restaurants competing with each other. The term  'menu costs' immediately becomes meaningful as the costs that would be  incurred  in changing the menu cards every time there  is a change in the prices of items on the menu. These printing costs are surely negligible, but  the more  important costs are in terms of the loss of customers that a firm would face if it subjects its clientele to the 'irritability'  of continuous, small changes in prices. The concept  of menu costs in  a modem economy  is  indeed broad.  It  is  also widely applicable, given  the proliferation of automatic dispensers (e.g., coffee machines) and pay  telephones that operate on coins.  

It  is easy to  imagine  the cost that would be  incurred by  the suppliers if these ubiquitous machines were to be adjusted every time a price change is effected. The firms would rather not change their prices.  It  is  this idea  of weighing  the  costs  of  changing prices against the benefits obtained  from  changing prices that  is  formalised  in  the Mankiw model that we consider below.    


Related Discussions:- Menu costs

Why do managers need to know economics?, Economics contributes a great deal...

Economics contributes a great deal with towards the performance of managerial duties and responsibilities. Just as biology donates to the medical profession and physics of engineer

What is production isoquant, Q. What is Production Isoquant? An isoquan...

Q. What is Production Isoquant? An isoquant demonstrates all those combinations of factors that produce the same level of output. An isoquant is also called as equal product cu

Evaluate the regression, Question: (a) The regression results for the ...

Question: (a) The regression results for the quantity demanded of good X is given by ln Q X = 1220 - 9.5 ln P X - 2.21 ln P Y + 1.01 ln M t values (5.3)  (-5.1

Demerits of direct taxes, Demerits of direct taxes a. Heavy direct tax...

Demerits of direct taxes a. Heavy direct taxation, especially when closely linked to current earnings, can act as a serious check to productivity by encouraging absenteeism

Determinants of demand, Determinants of Demand Price elasticity of dema...

Determinants of Demand Price elasticity of demand fluctuates from commodity to commodity. Whereas the demand of some commodities is highly elastic, demand for others is highly

Keynesian unemployment, Keynesian unemployment According to Keynesian ...

Keynesian unemployment According to Keynesian theory of income and employment, unemployment occurs due to lack of effective demand. If effective demand is less, production of

Marginal utility, Marginal Utility The extra utility derived from the ...

Marginal Utility The extra utility derived from the consumption of one more unit of a good, the consumption of all other goods remaining unchanged. The hypothesis of dimin

Will you make any profits in the short run, Problem 1: Using relevant e...

Problem 1: Using relevant examples, discuss the pricing strategies that firms can use to capture value from their customers. Problem 2: You are a manager in a perfectl

Disadvantages of the planned economy, Disadvantages of the Planned System ...

Disadvantages of the Planned System The centrally planned economies suffer from the following limitations: Lack of choice:   Consumers have little influence over what is p

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd