Clarifying (Opportunity) Costs

Daniel Stone

The American Economist, 2015, vol. 60, issue 1, 20-25

Abstract: Opportunity cost is widely considered to be a fundamental concept in economics. But the definition of the term continues to be both unclear and controversial. I describe how the term is widely used in two distinct ways, both in academic and non-academic contexts. I propose a practical way for educators to clarify the concept and related terminology.

Keywords: opportunity cost; implicit cost; explicit cost; economic cost; thinking like an economist (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:amerec:v:60:y:2015:i:1:p:20-25

DOI: 10.1177/056943451506000103

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