Understanding Long Run Average Cost Curves and Their Implications for Market Structure

The video tutorial explains long run average cost (LRAC) curves, focusing on economies and diseconomies of scale. It uses a factory example to illustrate how increasing the size of a firm can initially lead to lower average costs (economies of scale) but eventually result in higher costs (diseconomies of scale) as the firm becomes too large to manage efficiently. The tutorial also discusses the implications of LRAC on market structure, highlighting how firms aim to produce at the minimum point of the LRAC curve to remain competitive. Different shapes of LRAC curves are analyzed, including the typical U-shape and a flat curve, which indicate varying efficiencies at different output levels.

How do firms tend to operate in relation to the long run average cost curve?

What implications do long run average cost curves have for competition in a market?

What is the minimum efficient scale and why is it important for firms?