Marginalindtægten

Marginalindtægten, or marginal revenue in English, is a fundamental concept in economics, particularly in microeconomics and microeconomic theory. It refers to the additional revenue a company earns from selling one more unit of a good or service. To calculate marginalindtægten, one subtracts the total revenue from selling a certain quantity of goods from the total revenue generated by selling one unit more. Alternatively, it can be viewed as the change in total revenue divided by the change in quantity.

In a perfectly competitive market, where a firm is a price taker, the marginalindtægten is equal to the market price of the good. This is because the firm can sell as much as it wants at the prevailing market price, so each additional unit sold adds exactly the market price to its total revenue. However, in markets where firms have some degree of market power, such as a monopoly or an oligopoly, the marginalindtægten is typically less than the price. This occurs because to sell an additional unit, the firm usually has to lower the price not only on that extra unit but also on all previous units.

Understanding marginalindtægten is crucial for firms when making production decisions. A profit-maximizing firm will continue to produce and sell goods as long as its marginalindtægten is greater than or equal to its marginalomkostninger (marginal cost). When marginalindtægten falls below marginalomkostninger, producing more units would lead to a decrease in profits, and therefore the firm should reduce output. This principle helps firms find the optimal level of production to maximize their economic profits.