Is the Opportunity Cost of Idle Capacity Zero? Coase (1938) Versus Managerial Accounting Circa 2000
24 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2001
There are 2 versions of this paper
Is the Opportunity Cost of Idle Capacity Zero? Coase (1938) Versus Managerial Accounting Circa 2000
Date Written: May 2001
Abstract
Many accounting textbooks state that the opportunity cost of idle fixed assets is zero. A few exceptions may refer to factors such as repair and overhaul, employee vacation and congestion that give rise to strictly positive opportunity cost. We show that in important and frequently encountered situations, idled assets have positive opportunity cost arising from extension of their useful life. We also present a simple framework to help managers identify such situations and correctly assess opportunity costs.
Keywords: Opportunity Cost, Resource Management, Time-Based Costing, Resource Granularity, Decision-Making
JEL Classification: L21, M21, M40, M46
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation