Jacob: and I’m Jacob Clifford, and I have a confession. Economists’ perfect little

我是 Jacob Clifford，我承認經濟學家的一些完美的模式

models don’t exactly reflect real life. Which is disappointing.

無法真的反映事實生活，雖然有點令人失望

Adriene: Don’t worry. You’re not wasting your time. Microeconomics explains ideas and concepts in

別擔心，上這門課不會浪費時間，總體經濟解釋概念和觀點

pretty broad terms, and leaves the business specifics to other courses like accounting,

時會用較通俗的名詞，太專業的名詞會留給專業科目如會計

management, and marketing. Understanding economics can help entrepreneurs become better

管理及行銷，瞭解經濟學可以幫企業家學習

decision makers. Think of it like a liberal arts education — it's not where you go to

如何決策，把經濟學看成是一門人文教育，本課程不是要讓你

learn any specific job — but it can help you see the big picture.

學習做某一項工作，但可以協助你擴展視野

[Theme Music]

音樂

Jacob: Let’s say a lawyer stops practicing law and decides to open up a pizza parlor.

舉律師的例子，如果一位律師不再執業，決定開家披薩店

Let’s say his total revenue from selling pizza is $50,000 and he has to pay $20,000

如果他賣出披薩所賺的錢是 5 萬美元，他必須付 2萬美元

to cover stuff like the ingredients, the oven, rent, and wages. Now, an accountant would

來買材料、烤箱、付租金及員工薪水，會計師會計算

calculate his profit, the revenue minus the costs, as $30,000. Not bad.

賣披薩的利潤，收入減去支出是 3萬美元，不錯 !

But an economist recognizes that there‘s a cost missing: the opportunity cost. Our

但經濟學家會認為這個計算方式裡少了一些東西，即機會成本

pizza entrepreneur loses the income he would have earned by being a lawyer, let’s say

就是比薩的老板不做律師時所未獲得的薪水，比方是

$100,000. If you factor that in, he is actually losing $70,000.

10 萬美元，如果你把這項支出算進去，他其實是損失了 7 萬美元

But he's his own boss. He might be happier running a pizza shop even though he is making

但他是自己的老板，雖然虧錢還是會開心

less money. Well, maybe, but the point is, you have to factor in these implicit benefits

好吧，可能很開心，但重點是你必須把這些隱含的利潤

and costs when you make decisions.

和支出都算進去，才能下決定

So there's actually two types of profit. Accounting profit, which is revenue minus just explicit

所以事實上有兩種型式的利潤，會計上的利潤，用收入減去顯性成本

costs, those traditional out-of-pocket costs you think of when you run a business. And

這種傳統的做法計算成本的開銷

there’s Economic profit which is revenue minus explicit and implicit costs — which

然後另一種是經濟學上的利潤，就是收入減去隱性成本

is those indirect opportunity costs.

那些非直接的機會成本

Adriene: In this example, putting a dollar price on opportunity cost is pretty easy.

這個例子裡，計算機會成本其實蠻容易

It’s just the income he’s not earning as a lawyer. Maybe the idea of putting a price

就是當律師所賺的薪水，也許你會認為把無形的

on intangible implicit things seems a little strange, but you do it all the time. When

隱性的薪水算進來有點奇怪，但其實你經常會這麼做

you’re deciding whether or not to get a job you calculate the explicit costs — like

當你在思考是否要做某項工作時，你要計算顯性成本

how much it costs to get to work every day, but also the implicit costs — the value

像是每天去工作要花的錢，但也要考慮隱性的支出

of the things you have to give up.

如你必須放棄做的事或物

Maybe you’re giving up the money you could earn doing some other job, time with family

也許你因為要做這項工作，而放棄做另一項工作可以賺到的錢

and friends, or the opportunity to binge watch Gilmore Girls. How much that actually costs depends

少了和家人和朋友相處的時間，或追劇的機會，究竟這些值多少錢

on the individual, but if the wage offered is greater than the cost of all those things, you take the job.

必須視個人而定，如果工作可以獲得的收入遠大於所有這些成本，該選擇工作

Businesses use this same logic. They calculate their potential revenue and their costs of

做生意也是如此，企業家計算商品潛在的收益及成本

production, including implicit costs, to make informed decisions. This means that companies

包括隱性成本，才能做出明智的決定，這表示公司

in competitive markets don’t make very much profit.

在競爭的市場中不會賺太多錢

In fact, economists argue that they make no economic profit. To be clear, companies need to make accounting

事實上，經濟學家認為企業不能有很大的經濟利潤，說明白點，公司需要有利潤

profit to stay in business, so they do make a profit, just not above and beyond their opportunity costs.

才能存活，所以他們會賺錢，但不會超過他們的機會成本

Here’s why: If you're the first one to start selling glowsticks at a rave, you might make

這是為什麼，如果你是第一家賣螢光棒的，你可能會賺些錢

some economic profit. You would cover the cost of glow sticks and possibly all of your

你要有商品的成本，還有一些可能的

opportunity costs, the money you could be earning doing something else.

機會成本，就是你如果做別的生意賺的錢

But if you’re making a ton of extra money on top of that, it's likely that glowstick

如果你因為製造商品而賺大筆的錢，很可能其他的競爭者

competitors will jump in the market. Competition will lower the price and reduce your sales.

也會跳進來和你搶生意，競爭使商品價格下降，你的銷售量也減少

New vendors will continue to enter until all that extra profit disappears, just like the

新的競爭者不斷地投入市場，直到你的額外的利潤消失

beautiful light of a glow stick fading away on Sunday morning. Businesses that stay in

就像是週六晚上點亮的螢光棒在週日早上螢光漸漸消失

the market make just as much as they would doing something else.

做這個生意的公司所賺的錢就像賣其他的商品時賺的錢一樣

In other words, they have zero economic profit — that’s what economists call normal profit.

換句話說，這些公司根本沒有經濟上的利潤，只是經濟學家所稱的標準利潤

And it’s the minimum level of economic profit a company needs to stay in business. But remember,

這只是一間公司所得到的最小程度的獲利，僅能供其維持營運不致關門的利潤

this is only in very competitive markets that have low barriers for entry. If it's hard

但記得這是在競爭很激烈的市場，而加入市場的門檻低的情況下才會如此

for other companies to enter a market, then a business can earn economic profit.

如果其他的公司想加入市場會有極大的困難，則原來佔有第一位的企業就可以獲得經濟利潤

Jacob: So now, let’s look at the cost of production, the actual cost of producing things.

好的，現在讓我們來看看製造成本，生產商品實際上的成本

Economists point out that there's two types of costs: there's variable costs and fixed

經濟學家指出兩種成本，變動成本及固定成本

costs. Variable costs change with the amount produced. So, a variable cost for a pizza

變動成本隨著製造量增加而改變，如一家披薩店生產披薩時

restaurant is the costs of ingredients, like wheat and cheese, and the wages paid to workers.

需要的成本原料小麥起司，還有勞工工資

The more pizza you make, the more of those resources you need, and the higher those costs.

披薩做的愈多，原料需要的愈多，成本就愈高

But, fixed costs, as you might imagine are fixed. The cost of an oven or rent don’t

但固定成本如你想的一樣是不變的，烤箱或店租是不變的

change, even if you produce more pizza. Now, together, fixed costs and variable costs make

即使披薩做的愈多也不會改變，變動成本及固定成本加起來

up the total cost for a specific number of pizzas.

就是製作特定數量披薩的成本

Now, Average cost, or the cost per unit, is the total cost divided by the number of output.

平均成本或是單一數量的成本，則是全部成本除以生產數量

The average cost of producing most things initially falls as more is produced.

若生產數量大時平均成本則降低

So if the owner of the pizza shop spends $10,000 on a brand new oven, the average cost of that

所以披薩店老板如果花了 1 萬美元買了新烤箱，新烤箱烤出來的第一個披薩平均成本

very first pizza produced is gonna be about $10,000. The average cost of producing two

變成是約 1 萬美元，二個的平均成本則

pizzas would be around $5,000. And once you get to 10 pizzas, it’s like $1,000 — that’s an expensive pizza.

大約是 5 千美元，一旦你做出10個披薩，平均成本是 1 千美元，好貴的披薩

The more units he makes, the lower the average cost per pizza, because fixed costs can be

披薩生產愈多，平均成本愈低

spread over a large number of units. Now obviously the owner wouldn't have bought that oven if

因為成本分散到數量上了，當然店主不會只為了十個披薩

he expected only to make 10 pizzas.

而買新烤箱

Buying expensive equipment only makes sense if you plan on making a lot. That’s one

只有在想要生產許多商品時才會添購昂貴的設備

reason why large companies often have a cost advantage over small companies.

這就是大公司相較於小公司來得有利

Adriene: So, the cost to produce only one car would be really, really high. Like, millions

所以只製造一輛車子，車子會很貴，大約百萬元

of dollars. But the average price of a new car in the US is over $33,000. To keep their

但美國一般的新車價錢是 3 萬 3 千多美元

average cost down, car manufactures make hundreds of cars per day in huge, expensive factories.

為了使價格下降，汽車製造商每天在昂貴的車廠裡製造上百輛的車子

Their total total costs are astronomical, but the average cost per car is relatively low.

總生產成本極高，但平均成本相對則低

Unless you want an Aston Martin or something.

除非你要的是一台豪華的奧斯頓·馬丁

This is called economies of scale. Companies that produce more can utilize mass production

這是所謂的規模經濟，公司行號運用大量製造的技術

techniques and spread out their fixed costs over a lot of units. Economies of scale work

將成本平均分攤在數量上，規模經濟的運作良好時

so well, some companies get big enough to dominate their industry and limit competition

公司的規模大到一定程度後，可以在產業裡稱霸並限制競爭

We’ll get to that. For now let’s go back to the pizza example. Economies of scale means

等等我們再說這點，回到前面提到的披薩店例子，規模經濟的意思是

that a larger pizza restaurant may have a slight cost advantage compared to a smaller

大的披薩店較小型店在成本上佔優勢

restaurant because they can afford things like ovens with conveyor belts. To get the

因為他們可以購買烤箱還有輸送帶

average cost to fall even further, a restaurant could automate the entire process and have

要使平均成本更低，披薩店還可以將生產過程自動化

robots produce 1000 pizzas per hour, but that doesn’t make sense if no one wants to buy

讓機器人每小時生產 1000 個披薩，但如果都沒有人要賣就沒用了

all those pizzas. Although it’s great to keep costs down, the goal of a business is

雖然可以減少成本是很好，但企業的目標不是

not to have the lowest average cost. The goal is to make the right number of pizzas that maximize profit.

將平均成本壓到最低，目標是生產的披薩數量能帶來最大的利潤

To produce the right amount, a business should follow the profit maximizing rule:

要使生產的披薩數量剛剛好，企業必須要遵循一些使利潤最大化的法則

continue to produce as long as the marginal revenue of the last unit produced is greater or equal

持續生產一直到最後一個披薩的邊際收益大於或等於

to the marginal cost. This is often shortened down to “produce where MR equals MC.”

邊際成本，可以簡單的說明成「MR 等於 MC」

Let’s break it down. Marginal revenue is the additional revenue earned from selling another unit.

我們來逐項說明下，邊際收益是賣出每個披薩的額外收益

So if a pizza company can sell every pizza for $10 then their marginal revenue for each is $10.

如果一家披薩店可以賣出 10美元的披薩，那它的邊際收益是每個 10 美元

Marginal cost is the additional cost of producing another unit.

邊際成本則是再生產出一個的額外成本

It is the change in total cost from producing one more pizza.

也是就再生產一個披薩的總成本

So if the marginal cost of another pizza is $5 and you can sell it for $10 then you should

如果再生產一個披薩的邊際成本是 5 美元，賣出時是 10 美元

definitely produce that pizza. You would make a $5 profit off it. If the marginal cost of

披薩店絕對要生產這個披薩， 因為可以賺到 5 美元

next pizza is $9 then you should produce that pizza too.

如果生產另一個披薩的邊際成本是 9 美元，仍應再生產一個披薩

But, if the marginal cost of the next pizza is $12, you shouldn’t make it. The additional

但如果再生產一個披薩的邊際成本是 12 美元，就不該再生產

cost is greater than the additional revenue. Notice in this example the marginal cost is

因為額外的成本超過利潤，注意到這個例子裡的邊際成本

increasing. That’s true for the production of almost everything. The more you make, each

會不斷增加，幾乎所有的產品製造都是如此

additional unit is eventually going to cost more. Let’s learn why in the Thought Bubble

產品製造量愈多，成本愈高，讓我們來瞭解下為什麼

Jacob: Businesses have all kinds of variable costs, but let’s imagine a pizza shop where

企業有許多的變項成本，但我們想像一下披薩店

the only variable cost is labor. And while we’re using the power of imagination, let’s

只有一項成本即人工，利用我們的想像力下

say that they’re making rainbow flavored pizza. Anyway, when one worker is hired,

工人們製作出彩虹口味的披薩，當雇用一名勞工

that worker does absolutely everything himself.

這名勞工必須大小事全包

He purees the rainbows, assembles the pizza, puts it in the oven, and delivers it.

他要製作彩虹，製作披薩，放進烤箱裡烤，還要外送

But, when a company hires a second worker, they can start to specialize. One worker prepares

但如果公司再雇用一位勞工，他們就可以各司其職了

the ingredients while the other makes the pizza and puts it in the oven. Now, this specialization

一位準備材料，另一位製作披薩放進烤箱

decreases the the marginal cost of each pizza. If one worker can make 5 pizzas in an hour,

各司其職時可以減少披薩的邊際成本，如果一位工人每小時製做五個披薩

but two workers can produce 20 pizzas then the additional cost of each of those pizzas will be lower.

兩位工人每小時製做二十個披薩，製做披薩額外成本會下降

But the benefits of specialization are limited. As the company continues to hire more and

但各司其職的優點有限，公司若雇用許多勞工

more workers, the total amount of pizzas they produce each hour is going to increase at a slower rate

每小時所製作的披薩數量增加速度會變慢

They’ve run up against the law of diminishing marginal returns. As you add variable resources,

情形會變成所謂的邊際收益遞減，當你增加變動的資源像勞工

like workers, to a set number of fixed resources, like ovens, the additional output generated

或是固定的資源如烤箱，額外的勞工所產出

from each additional worker will eventually decrease. There are just too many cooks in the kitchen.

的成果會慢慢減少，因為廚房會有太的廚師

Now, eventually, they’ll get to a point where hiring another worker only adds one

好，最終會達到一點，即再雇用一位勞工只能每小時增加一塊披薩

more pizza to their hourly total. Now, the marginal cost of that last pizza is huge.

最後這一塊披薩的邊際成本最大

And, it's likely to be higher than the additional revenue the company is gonna get from selling

而且它可能比賣出披薩所獲得的額外營收還要高

that pizza. So to maximize profit, a company should make sure they produce the right number

所以為了要獲得最大的利潤，披薩店要確保他們生產的披薩數量是最正確的

of pizzas. Where the marginal cost of the last unit produced is going to be up to,

因此，邊際成本可能達到邊際收益

but not greater than, the marginal revenue.

但不能高過於邊際收益

Adriene: Thanks Thought Bubble. The Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns applies to all

感謝思考泡泡，邊際收益遞減法則適用於

sorts of tasks. For farmers, there’s likely to be a large additional yield from fertilizing

各類的工作，對農夫而言，可以指的是一開始養地施肥

a field for the first time, but each time they fertilize the additional gains diminish.

種出農作物，但每次收成後再施肥後額外的獲得會減少

At some point, too much fertilizer can actually cause the total yield to fall. This also applies to studying.

到了一定時間後，太多的肥料可能實際上的收獲下降，法則也適用於讀書

The returns from your first hour of studying are high. Instead of failing your final exam, you may get a C.

第一個小時唸書的效率很高，你可能不會被當而拿到 C

Another hour of studying may get you a B and another hour may get you up to a B+. But every

再讀一小時你能拿到 B ，再一小時可以考到 B+

hour you get lower and lower returns. And, again at some point — maybe the twelfth hour of studying

但再來的幾小時可能拿到的分數反而低，可能是第十二小時

— your grade would actually go down since you stayed up all night and fell asleep during the test.

拿到的分數下降，因為你熬夜太累考試時反而睡著了

Understanding this law helps people balance costs and benefits, but there's one more cost

瞭解這個法則幫人們在成本及獲利之間取得平衡，但還有一項成本

we need to cover: sunk costs. A sunk cost is a cost that's already been paid and can't be recovered.

我們要講一下，沉沒成本是你已經付出的成本，沒法再拿回來了

Economists stress that sunk costs shouldn't be included when making future decisions.

經濟學家強調在做進一步決定時不應考慮沉沒成本

Assume a business spends 2 million dollars developing a new product, and then no one

假設企業花了 2 百萬美元開發新商品，沒有人要購買

wants that product. They have to come up with something else. The money spent on developing

企業必須要想出別的方法，開發第一個商品的錢

the first product is a sunk cost and should be ignored moving forward. This type of rational

即沉沒成本，接下則應別再想它，這種理性的決策

decision making seems like common sense, but behavioral economists point out that people

似乎是常識，但行為經濟學家指出

make irrational decisions all the time.

人們的決定往往是不理性的

Think about dating. Imagine a you’ve been with someone for a couple years. If your relationship

想一下約會交友，想像你已經和某人交往兩年了，如果交往沒有進一步

starts going sour, you might try to ignore the red flags. Who wants to give up on a relationship

戀情即將告吹，你可能會忽略略警訊，誰都不想放棄戀情

that you’ve invested so much time in? Economics tells us to think about sunk costs and focus

因為你投資太多時間下嗎 ? 經濟學家告訴我們別再在意沉沒成本

instead on the benefits and costs in the future. Get outta there!

應該去考慮未來的獲利及成本，走出戀情吧

Jacob: So there you have it. Everything you need to know to run your own business.

好了，做生意需要知道的事都說明完了

Except, not really. Economics explains business decision making in broad terms.

除了，沒有全部，經濟學家用較簡化的方式來解釋企業決策

Adriene: If you really want to learn all the details, become an entrepreneur and start a business.

如果你想進一步瞭解更詳盡，自己創業成為企業家

And if you ever get interviewed by Fortune magazine or The Wall Street Journal,

如果你接受 Fortune 雜誌或華爾街日報記者訪問

make sure to tell them that it all started here, with Crash Course Economics.

記得告訴他們你是因為速成經濟學教你創業

Thanks for watching, we’ll see you next week.

謝謝收看，下週見

Jacob: Crash Course Economics was made with the help of all these nice people. You can

速成經濟學是由一些善良的朋友一起合作的

help with our costs by subscribing to Crash Course at Patreon, where your support will

你可以透過訂閱來支持我們，因為你的支持

help keep Crash Course free, for everyone, forever. And you get great rewards.

才可以使速成課免費供讀者點閱，你也可以獲得報酬

Thanks for watching and DFTBA!

謝謝收看，還有 DFTBA !

Adriene: Let's break it down. Marginal revenue is the additional revenue earned from --

說明下，邊際收益是獲得的額外利潤

[crashing noise] [laughter] Are you OK?

你還好嗎 ?