Question

Define economic profit. Explain how economic profit is different than accounting profit. Why is it important for economists to measure economic profit rather than just sticking to the accounting profit used in accounting and finance?

Answer 1

Answer:

a. Economic profit is the excess of revenue over both opportunity (implicit) and explicit costs.  Explicit costs are the cost of all inputs used.

b. The difference between economic profit and accounting profit is that in calculating economic profit, both the explicit costs and the implicit or opportunity costs are deducted from the revenue.  Whereas, in computing the accounting profit, only the explicit costs are deducted from the revenue.

c. Economists measure economic profit rather than accounting profit because economists believe that the real cost of an output includes the economic or opportunity cost (potential benefits lost as a result of the course of action chosen).

Explanation:

Opportunity cost is the implicit cost incurred, which is equal to the potential benefits lost by an individual or a business, when an alternative is chosen instead of the other alternative.  It is an important concept in the computation of economic profit.  The concept ensures that both implicit and explicit costs are considered when determining the profits generated by a business.