The
Blank
______ cost of any resource used to produce a good is the value or worth the resource would have in its best alternative use.

Question

The 
Blank
______ cost of any resource used to produce a good is the value or worth the resource would have in its best alternative use.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Economic cost (also called opportunity cost) is the value a resource would have in its next-best alternative use, so the blank should be filled with "economic."

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Opportunity cost: the benefit forgone by not using a resource in its next-best alternative.
- Economic cost: the sum of explicit costs (monetary payments) plus implicit costs (the opportunity costs of owned resources).
- Accounting (or explicit) cost: only the actual monetary payments recorded in accounting books.
- Absolute cost: not a standard economics term in this context; it does not capture alternative-use valuation.

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- The phrase "value or worth the resource would have in its best alternative use" is the textbook definition of opportunity cost.
- Economic cost is defined to include opportunity cost: it measures the true cost of using a resource now rather than in its best alternative.
- Therefore, the blank must refer to the type of cost that equals an opportunity cost—i.e., economic cost.

3. Intermediate logical steps (no numeric calculation required)
- Identify the key phrase: "best alternative use" → this signals opportunity cost.
- Match this to cost types: accounting/explicit costs exclude opportunity cost; economic cost includes it.
- Conclude: economic cost = opportunity cost described in the sentence.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- Economic cost explicitly captures the value of forgone alternatives; it is the correct technical term for "the value or worth the resource would have in its best alternative use."

5. Why the other options are incorrect
- Absolute: not a standard term for this concept and does not denote opportunity cost.
- Explicit: another word for monetary or accounting payment; it ignores implicit opportunity costs.
- Accounting: refers to recorded monetary costs; it does not include the non-monetary value of forgone alternatives.

6. Conclusion
Therefore, the correct fill-in is "economic," which matches the provided answer.

The Blank ______ cost of any resource used to produce a good is the value or worth the resource would have in its best alternative use.Single choice

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