Different Types of Costs

Profit is the ultimate aim of any business and the long-run prosperity of a firm depends upon its ability to earn sustained profits. Profits are the difference between selling price and cost of production. In general the selling price is not within the control of a firm but many costs are under its control. The firm should therefore aim at controlling and minimizing cost. Since every business decision involves cost consideration, it is necessary to understand the meaning of various concepts for clear business thinking and application of right kind of costs.

A managerial economist must have a clear understanding of the different cost concepts for clear business thinking and proper application.… Read the rest

RBI as the Exchange Control Authority

One of the important central banking functions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the maintenance of the external value of the rupee. As such it has been given the custody of foreign exchange reserves and sole agency for the administration of exchange controls in India. All receipts and payments in and out of India require general or special permission of the RBI. The dealings in foreign exchange and foreign securities in India, payments to person resident outside India and export and import of currency notes, bullion or precious stones etc., are subject to general or special permission of RBI or are prohibited.

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The Circular Flow Model of the Economy

The circular flow model is used to represent the monetary transactions in an economy. It helps to show connections between different sectors of an economy. It shows flows of goods and services and factors of production between firms and households. The circular flow of income is a model that helps show the movement of income and spending throughout the economy. In the economy, households help provide firms with factors of production, e.g. labour. Organisations use these factors to provide goods and services to the household. The households will then spend their money on the goods and services provided by the firms.… Read the rest

The Stages of Inflation

Inflation passes through three stages. In the first stage the rise in price is slow and gradual. In this stage it is easier to check the inflationary rise in the price of goods and services. But if inflation is not effectively checked in the first stage then it enters the second stage. In second stage inflation becomes a serious headache for the government. The prices of goods and services start rising much more rapidly then before. It not possible to eliminate inflation completely but if the government takes effective steps, it may be possible to prevent a further rise in price level.… Read the rest

Price Elasticity Of Demand – Concept and Types

The price elasticity of demand measures the degree of responsiveness of quantity demanded for a certain commodity to the change in its price. In other words, the price elasticity of demand is defined as the ‘ratio of percentage change in the quantity demanded to the percentage change in price. It can be expressed as follows:

Price elasticity of demand (ep) = Percentage change in quantity of demand / Percentage change in price

Where, ep = Coefficient of price elasticity of demand.

The price elasticity of demand is always negative due to the inverse relationship between the price and quantity demanded. But for the sake of simplicity in understanding the magnitude of response of quantity demanded to the change in the price we ignore the negative sign and take into account only the numerical value of the price elasticity of demand.… Read the rest

Fiscal Policy – Definition, Objectives and Techniques

The term fiscal has been derived from the greek word fisc, meaning a basket to symbolize the public purse. Fiscal policy thus means the policy related to the treasury of the government.

Fiscal policy is a part of general economic policy of the government which is primarily concerned with the budget receipts and expenditures of the government. All welfare projects are completed under this policy .It also suggests measures to control economic fluctuations which may become violent and create great upheavals in the socio-economic structure of the economy. It also outlines the influence of resource utilization on the level of aggregate demand through affecting the level of aggregate consumption and investment expenditure.… Read the rest