Short-run

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In economics, the concept of the short-run refers to the decision-making time frame of a firm in which at least one factor of production is fixed. Costs which are fixed in the short-run have no impact on a firms decisions.

A generic firm can make three changes in the short-run:

Increase production
Decrease production
Shut down

In the short-run, a profit maximizing firm will:

Increase production if marginal cost is less than price;
Decrease production if marginal cost is greater than price;
Continue producing if average variable cost is less than price, even if average total cost is greater than price;
Shut down if average variable cost is greater than price. Thus, the fixed cost is the largest loss a firm can incur in the short-run.