1. Chapter 22: Rents, Profits, and the Financial Environment of Business
ECON 152 – PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
Chapter 22:
Rents, Profits, and the Financial Environment of Business
Materials include content from Pearson Addison-Wesley which has been modified by the instructor and displayed with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

2. Income Sources Wages from the use of labor
Rent from the use of natural resources
Interest from the use of money capital
Profit from the risk of entrepreneurship

3. Rent Rent is revenue from the use of natural resources
Economic rent is payment to the owner of any resource in excess of its opportunity cost.

4. Economic Rent Who earns economic rent for labor services? Movie Stars
Top Athletes
Successful innovators

5. Economic Rent
Superstars who earn economic rent are paid more than the minimum they would have to earn in order to continue in their work.
But the rent serves an economic function of allocating their labor to the best use.
The amount of rent they can earn will be determined by the demand for services only they can offer.

6. The Legal Organization of Firms
Before addressing the profits of firms, it is appropriate to discuss legal organization.
Proprietorships
A business owned by one individual who:
Makes the business decisions
Receives all the profits
Is legally responsible for all the debts of the firm

7. The Legal Organization of Firms
Proprietorships
About 70 percent of all U.S. firms
10 million firms with sales averaging not much more than $50,000 per year
Account for 5 percent of all business revenues

8. The Legal Organization of Firms
Advantages of proprietorships
Easy to form and dissolve
All decision-making power resides with the sole proprietor
Profit is taxed only once

9. The Legal Organization of Firms
Disadvantages of proprietorships
Unlimited liability
The owner of the firm is personally responsible for all of the firm’s debts
Limited ability to raise funds
Proprietorship normally ends with the death of the proprietor

10. The Legal Organization of Firms
Partnerships
A business owned and managed by two or more co-owners, or partners, who
Share the responsibilities and the profits of the firm
Are individually liable for all the debts of the partnership

11. The Legal Organization of Firms
Advantages of partnerships
Easy to form and dissolve
Partners retain decision-making power
Permits more effective specialization
Profit is taxed only once

12. The Legal Organization of Firms
Disadvantages of partnerships
Unlimited liability
Decision making more costly
Dissolution generally necessary when a partner dies or leaves the firm

13. The Legal Organization of Firms
Corporations
A legal entity that may conduct business in its own name just as an individual does
The owners of a corporation, called shareholders:
Own shares of the firm’s profits
Enjoy the protection of limited liability

14. The Legal Organization of Firms
Limited Liability
A legal concept whereby the responsibility, or liability, of the owners of a corporation is limited to the value of the shares in the firm that they own

15. The Legal Organization of Firms
Advantages of corporations
Limited liability
Continues to exist when owner leaves the business
Raising large sums of financial capital

16. The Legal Organization of Firms
Disadvantages of corporations
Double taxation
Separation of ownership and control

17. Profits Accounting profit equals total revenue minus explicit costs.
If a business earns an accounting profit that is equal to the normal rate of return, then it is earning enough to cover the opportunity cost of capital.

18. Economic Profit
Economic profit equals total revenue minus the total opportunity cost of all inputs used.
This is equivalent to saying that economic profit is what remains of total revenue once all explicit and implicit costs have been covered.
Economic profit is different than accounting profit.

20. Examples of Explicit and Implicit Costs

21. Profits
Economic theory assumes that the goal of any firm is to maximize profit.
An enterprise cannot obtain capital financing unless it generates the profits necessary to reward investors.

22. Interest
Interest is the price paid by debtors to creditors for the use of financial capital.
Interest is the market return earned by capital as a factor of production.

23. Interest and Credit The interest rate paid depends on
Length of the loan
Risk
Handling charges

24. Real versus Nominal Interest Rates
The nominal interest rate rises along with increases in expected inflation

25. The Allocative Role of Interest
Interest is a price that allocates loanable funds to consumers and businesses.
Like any price set by the free market, it can serve to bring about an efficient allocation of a scarce good.
In this case, the scarce good is financial capital.

26. Interest Rates and Present Value
The present value of a given amount to be received in the future is the most that someone would pay today in order to be entitled to receive that amount in the future.

27. Interest Rates and Present Value
Present value of $105 to be received one year from now, if the interest rate is 5%:
PV = 105/(1.05) = 100
The present value is $100

28. Interest Rates and Present Value
Discounting
The process of determining the present value of a sum to be received some time in the future.

29. Methods of Corporate Financing
Selling ownership shares (stock)
Using notes of indebtedness (bonds)
Some profits retained for reinvestment (profits)

30. Methods of Corporate Financing
Share of Stock
A legal claim to a share of a corporation’s future profits
Common stock
Incorporates certain voting rights regarding major policy decisions of the corporation
Preferred stock
Owners are accorded preferential treatment in the payment of dividends

31. Methods of Corporate Financing
Bond
A legal claim against a firm, usually entitling the owner of the bond to receive a fixed annual coupon payment, plus a lump-sum payment at the bond’s maturity date
Issued in return for funds lent to the firm

32. The Difference Between Stocks and Bonds
Stocks Bonds
1. Stocks represent ownership. 1. Bonds represent debt.
2. Common stocks do not have a fixed 2. Interest on bonds must always be dividend rate. paid, whether or not any profit is earned.
3. Stockholders can elect a board of 3. Bondholders usually have no voice in directors, which controls the or over management of the corporation. corporation.
4. Stocks do not have a maturity date; 4. Bonds have a maturity date on which the corporation does not usually the bondholder is to be repaid the face repay the stockholder. value of the bond.
5. All corporations issue or offer to sell 5. Corporations need not issue bonds. stocks. This is the usual definition of a corporation.
6. Stockholders have a claim against the 6. Bondholders have a claim against the property and income of a corporation after property and income of a corporation all creditors’ claims have been met. that must be met before the claims of stockholders.

33. The Markets for Stocks and Bonds
Primary and secondary markets
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
More than 2,500 stocks are traded on the NYSE
About 600 brokerage firms pay up to $2,000,000 per seat to trade on the NYSE

34. The Markets for Stocks and Bonds
The theory of efficient markets
If all available information about the performance of a company is incorporated in the price of its stock, then the best predictor of tomorrow’s price is today’s price.
If some people are trading based on inside Information, then they have an opportunity to profit from their transactions before the market price adjusts to the information.

35. Chapter 22: Rents, Profits, and the Financial Environment of Business
ECON 152 – PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
Chapter 22:
Rents, Profits, and the Financial Environment of Business
Materials include content from Pearson Addison-Wesley which has been modified by the instructor and displayed with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.