Editing Opportunity cost (section)

== Uses==

=== Economic profit versus accounting profit ===
The main objective of accounting profits is to give an account of a company's fiscal performance, typically reported on in quarters and annually. As such, accounting principles focus on tangible and measurable factors associated with operating a business such as wages and rent, and thus, do not "infer anything about relative economic profitability".<ref name="Holian & Reza">{{cite journal |last1=Holian |first1=Matthew |last2=Reza |first2=Ali |title=Firm and industry effects in accounting versus economic profit data |journal=Applied Economics Letters |date=19 July 2010 |volume=18 |issue=6 |pages=527-529 <!--|access-date=15 March 2021-->|doi=10.1080/13504851003761756 |s2cid=154558882 |url=https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=econ_pub }}</ref> Opportunity costs are not considered in accounting profits as they have no purpose in this regard.

The purpose of calculating economic profits (and thus, opportunity costs) is to aid in better business decision-making through the inclusion of opportunity costs. In this way, a business can evaluate whether its decision and the allocation of its resources is cost-effective or not and whether resources should be reallocated.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goolsbee|first1=Austan|title=Microeconomics|last2=Levitt|first2=Steven|last3=Syverson|first3=Chad|publisher=Macmillan Learning|year=2019|isbn=9781319306793|edition=3rd|pages=8a - 8j}}</ref>[[File:Comparison of economic profit and accounting profit.png|thumb|Simplified example of comparing economic profit vs accounting profit]]

Economic profit does not indicate whether or not a business decision will make money. It signifies if it is prudent to undertake a specific decision against the opportunity of undertaking a different decision. As shown in the simplified example in the image, choosing to start a business would provide $10,000 in terms of accounting profits. However, the decision to start a business would provide &minus;$30,000 in terms of economic profits, indicating that the decision to start a business may not be prudent as the opportunity costs outweigh the profit from starting a business. In this case, where the revenue is not enough to cover the opportunity costs, the chosen option may not be the best course of action.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Layton|first1=Allan|title=Economics for Today|last2=Robinson|first2=Tim|last3=Tucker|first3=Irvin B. III|publisher=Cengage Australia|year=2015|isbn=9780170276313|edition=5th|pages=131–132, 479–486}}</ref> When economic profit is zero, all the explicit and implicit costs (opportunity costs) are covered by the total revenue and there is no incentive for reallocation of the resources. This condition is known as '''normal profit'''.

Several performance measures of economic profit have been derived to further improve business decision-making such as [[Risk-adjusted return on capital|risk-adjusted return on capital (RAROC)]] and [[Economic value added|economic value added (EVA)]], which directly include a quantified opportunity cost to aid businesses in risk management and optimal allocation of resources.<ref name="Kimball">{{cite journal |last1=Kimball |first1=Ralph |title=Economic Profit and Performance Measurement in Banking |journal=New England Economic Review |date=1998 |pages=35–39 |url=https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/new-england-economic-review/1998-issues/issue-july-august-1998/economic-profit-and-performance-measurement-in-banking.aspx#:~:text=Successful%20bank%20operation%20requires%20managers,growth%2C%20return%2C%20and%20risk.&text=Banks%20hope%20in%20this%20way,with%20the%20interests%20of%20shareholders. |access-date=13 March 2021 |publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of Boston |issn=0028-4726}}</ref> Opportunity cost, as such, is an economic concept in economic theory which is used to maximise value through better decision-making.

In accounting, collecting, processing, and reporting information on activities and events that occur within an organization is referred to as the accounting cycle. To encourage decision-makers to efficiently allocate the resources they have (or those who have trusted them), this information is being shared with them.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Robert P. |last=Magee |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1287886441 |title=Advanced managerial accounting |date=1986 |publisher=Harper & Row |oclc=1287886441}}</ref> As a result, the role of accounting has evolved in tandem with the rise of economic activity and the increasing complexity of economic structure. Accounting is not only the gathering and calculation of data that impacts a choice, but it also delves deeply into the decision-making activities of businesses through the measurement and computation of such data. In accounting, it is common practice to refer to the opportunity cost of a decision (option) as a cost.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Sandra C. |last=Vera-Munoz |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/926973835 |title=The effects of accounting knowledge and context on the omission of opportunity costs in resource allocation decisions. |date=1998 |publisher=American Accounting Association |oclc=926973835}}</ref> The discounted cash flow method has surpassed all others as the primary method of making investment decisions, and opportunity cost has surpassed all others as an essential metric of cash outflow in making investment decisions.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Yuri |last1=Biondi |first2=Arnaldo |last2=Canziani |first3=Thierry |last3=Kirat |chapter=Accounting and the theory of the firm |date=2007-04-12 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203931110-13 |title=The Firm as an Entity |pages=94–103 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203931110-13 |isbn=9780429240607 |access-date=2022-05-02}}</ref> For various reasons, the opportunity cost is critical in this form of estimation.

First and foremost, the discounted rate applied in DCF analysis is influenced by an opportunity cost, which impacts project selection and the choice of a discounting rate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chung |first=Kee H. |date=1989-05-01 |title=Inventory Control and Trade Credit Revisited |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.1989.77 |journal=Journal of the Operational Research Society |volume=40 |issue=5 |pages=495–498 |doi=10.1057/jors.1989.77 |s2cid=16422604 |issn=0160-5682}}</ref> Using the firm's original assets in the investment means there is no need for the enterprise to utilize funds to purchase the assets, so there is no cash outflow. However, the cost of the assets must be included in the cash outflow at the current market price. Even though the asset does not result in a cash outflow, it can be sold or leased in the market to generate income and be employed in the project's cash flow. The money earned in the market represents the opportunity cost of the asset utilized in the business venture. As a result, opportunity costs must be incorporated into project planning to avoid erroneous project evaluations.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Willy S. |last=Herroelen |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/68978777 |title=Project network models with discounted cash flows: a guided tour through recent developments |date=1995 |publisher=Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Departement Toegepaste Economische Wetenschappen |oclc=68978777}}</ref> Only those costs directly relevant to the project will be considered in making the investment choice, and all other costs will be excluded from consideration. Modern accounting also incorporates the concept of opportunity cost into the determination of capital costs and capital structure of businesses, which must compute the [[cost of capital]] invested by the owner as a function of the ratio of [[human capital]]. In addition, opportunity costs are employed to determine to price for asset transfers between industries.

=== Comparative advantage versus absolute advantage ===
When a nation, organisation or individual can produce a product or service at a relatively lower opportunity cost compared to its competitors, it is said to have a [[comparative advantage]]. In other words, a country has comparative advantage if it gives up less of a resource to make the same number of products as the other country that has to give up more.<ref name=":02">{{cite book|last1=Layton|first1=Allan|title=Economics for Today|last2=Robinson|first2=Tim|last3=Tucker|first3=Irvin B. III|publisher=Cengage Australia|year=2015|isbn=9780170276313|edition=5th|pages=131–132, 479–486}}</ref>

[[File:Comparative Advantage Example.png|thumb|A simple example of comparative advantage]]
Using the simple example in the image, to make 100 tonnes of tea, Country A has to give up the production of 20 tonnes of wool which means for every 1 tonne of tea produced, 0.2 tonnes of wool has to be forgone. Meanwhile, to make 30 tonnes of tea, Country B needs to sacrifice the production of 100 tonnes of wool, so for each tonne of tea, 3.3 tonnes of wool is forgone. In this case, Country A has a comparative advantage over Country B for the production of tea because it has a lower opportunity cost. On the other hand, to make 1 tonne of wool, Country A has to give up 5 tonnes of tea, while Country B would need to give up 0.3 tonnes of tea, so Country B has a comparative advantage over the production of wool.

[[Absolute advantage]] on the other hand refers to how efficiently a party can use its resources to produce goods and services compared to others, regardless of its opportunity costs. For example, if Country A can produce 1 tonne of wool using less manpower compared to Country B, then it is more efficient and has an absolute advantage over wool production, even if it does not have a comparative advantage because it has a higher opportunity cost (5 tonnes of tea).<ref name=":02" />

Absolute advantage refers to how efficiently resources are used whereas comparative advantage refers to how little is sacrificed in terms of opportunity cost. When a country produces what it has the comparative advantage of, even if it does not have an absolute advantage, and trades for those products it does not have a comparative advantage over, it maximises its output since the opportunity cost of its production is lower than its competitors. By focusing on [[Division of labour|specialising]] this way, it also maximises its level of consumption.<ref name=":02" />

=== Governmental level ===
Similar to the way people make decisions, governments frequently have to take opportunity cost into account when passing legislation. The potential cost at the government level can be seen when considering, for instance, government spending on war. Assume that entering a war would cost the government $840 billion. They are thereby prevented from using $840 billion to fund, say, healthcare, education, or tax cuts, or to diminish by that sum any budget deficit. The explicit costs are the wages and materials needed to fund soldiers and required equipment, whilst an implicit cost would the lost output as resources are direct from civilian to military tasks.

[[File:Opportunity Cost of the COVID-19 pandemic Australia.png|thumb|Opportunity cost at a government level example]]
Another example of opportunity cost at government level is the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Governmental responses to the COVID-19 epidemic have resulted in considerable economic and social consequences, both implicit and apparent. Explicit costs are the expenses that the government incurred directly as a result of the pandemic which included $4.5 billion dollars on medical bills, vaccine distribution of over $17 billion dollars, and economic stimulus plans that cost $189 billion dollars. These costs, which are often simpler to measure, resulted in greater public debt, decreased tax income, and increased expenditure by the government. The opportunity costs associated with the epidemic, including lost productivity, slower economic growth, and weakened social cohesiveness, are known as implicit costs. Even while these costs might be more challenging to estimate, they are nevertheless crucial to comprehending the entire scope of the pandemic's effects. For instance, the implementation of lockdowns and other limitations to stop the spread of the virus resulted in a $158 billion dollar loss due to decreased economic activity, job losses, and a rise in mental health issues.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pettinger |first=Tejvan |title=Opportunity Cost Definition |url=https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/2177/economics/opportunity-cost-definition/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Economics Help |date=6 December 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[File:Graph1.11.jpg|thumb|Demand and supply of hospital beds and days during Covid-19]]
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that broke out in recent years on economic operations is unavoidable, the economic risks are not symmetrical, and the impact of Covid-19 is distributed differently in the global economy. Some industries have benefited from the pandemic, while others have almost gone bankrupt. One of the sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic is the public and private health system. Opportunity cost is the concept of ensuring efficient use of scarce resources,<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal |last=Olivera |first=Mario J. |date=2020-12-29 |title=Opportunity cost and COVID-19: A perspective from health economics |journal=Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran |volume=34 |pages=177 |doi=10.47176/mjiri.34.177 |issn=1016-1430 |pmc=8004566 |pmid=33816376}}</ref> a concept that is central to [[health economics]]. The massive increase in the need for intensive care has largely limited and exacerbated the department's ability to address routine health problems. The sector must consider opportunity costs in decisions related to the allocation of scarce resources, premised on improving the health of the population.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |first=M. F. |last=Drummond |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/300939640 |title=Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programmes |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-852945-3 |oclc=300939640}}</ref>

However, the opportunity cost of implementing policies to the sector has limited impact in the health sector. Patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19 require close monitoring in the ICU and in therapeutic ventilator support, which is key to treating the disease.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=World Health Organization |date=2020-05-20 |title=Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected. Interim guidance |journal=Pediatria I Medycyna Rodzinna |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=9–26 |doi=10.15557/pimr.2020.0003 |s2cid=219964509 |issn=1734-1531|doi-access=free }}</ref> In this case, scarce resources include bed days, ventilation time, and therapeutic equipment. Temporary excess demand for hospital beds from patients exceeds the number of bed days provided by the health system. The increased demand for days in bed is due to the fact that infected hospitalized patients stay in bed longer, shifting the demand curve to the right (see curve D2 in Graph1.11).{{clarify inline|reason=There is no Graph 1.11!|date=November 2023}}<ref name=":13" /> The number of bed days provided by the health system may be temporarily reduced as there may be a shortage of beds due to the widespread spread of the virus. If this situation becomes unmanageable, supply decreases and the supply curve shifts to the left (curve S2 in Graph1.11).{{clarify inline|reason=There is no Graph 1.11!|date=November 2023}}<ref name=":13" /> A perfect competition model can be used to express the concept of opportunity cost in the health sector.<ref>{{Cite book |first1=R. G. |last1=Lipsey |last2=Chrystal |first2=K. A. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/475315028 |title=Economics |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-928641-6 |oclc=475315028}}</ref> In perfect competition, market equilibrium is understood as the point where supply and demand are exactly the same (points P and Q in Graph1.11).{{clarify inline|reason=There is no Graph 1.11!|date=November 2023}}<ref name=":13" /> The balance is Pareto optimal equals marginal opportunity cost. Medical allocation may result in some people being better off and others worse off. At this point, it is assumed that the market has produced the maximum outcome associated with the Pareto partial order.<ref name=":13" /> As a result, the opportunity cost increases when other patients cannot be admitted to the ICU due to a shortage of beds.