边际成本 / marginal cost

「释义」

在经济学和金融学中，边际成本指的是每增产一单位的产品（或多购买一单位的产品）所造成的总成本的增量。

这个概念表明每一单位的产品的成本与总产品量有关。比如，仅生产一辆汽车的成本是极其巨大的，而生产第101辆汽车的成本就低得多，而生产第10000汽车的成本就更低了（这是因为规模经济）。

「应用场景」

如今大多数计算设备都可以通过内置网络彼此连接。现代数字技术几乎无须任何边际成本就能分享信息，数字网络的覆盖速度很快。梅特卡夫法则认为，网络价值随着节点（连接点）或用户的增多而增加，这种动态变化就是网络效应。也就是说，数字技术带来了普遍的跨越式价值增长。特别是开放式网络连接技术，实现了产品融合。例如蚂蚁金服提供的，从支付工具到金融保险服务的拓展。

The second principle involves connectivity. Most computing devices today have built-in network connectivity that allows them to communicate with one another. Modern digital technology enables the sharing of information at near-zero marginal cost, and digital networks are spreading rapidly. Metcalfe’s law states that a network’s value increases with the number of nodes (connection points) or users—the dynamic we think of as network effects. This means that digital technology is enabling significant growth in value across our economy, particularly as open-network connections allow for the recombination of business offerings, such as the migration from payment tools to the broader financial services and insurance that we’ve seen at Ant Financial.

但是，尽管创造出的价值属于每个人，但价值获取却越来越不公和集中。因为流量具有马太效应，某些网络节点使用率更高，能吸引到更多流量，进一步强化其重要性。

But while value is being created for everyone, value capture is getting more skewed and concentrated. This is because in networks, traffic begets more traffic, and as certain nodes become more heavily used, they attract additional attachments, which further increases their importance.

以上文字选自《哈佛商业评论》中文版2017年10月刊《管理枢纽经济》

马尔科·扬西蒂（Marco Iansiti）卡里姆·拉哈宁（Karim R. Lakhani）丨文

马冰仑 丨编辑