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Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Production Introduction Our study of consumer behavior was broken down into 3 steps Describing consumer preferences Consumers face budget constraints Consumers choose to maximize utility Production decisions of a firm are similar to consumer decisions

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Chapter 6

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  1. Chapter 6 Production

  2. Introduction • Our study of consumer behavior was broken down into 3 steps • Describing consumer preferences • Consumers face budget constraints • Consumers choose to maximize utility • Production decisions of a firm are similar to consumer decisions • Can also be broken down into three steps Chapter 6

  3. Production Decisions of a Firm • Production Technology • Describe how inputs can be transformed into outputs • Inputs: land, labor, capital & raw materials • Outputs: cars, desks, books, etc. • Firms can produce different amounts of outputs using different combinations of inputs Chapter 6

  4. Production Decisions of a Firm • Cost Constraints • Firms must consider prices of labor, capital and other inputs • As consumers must consider budget constraints, firms must be concerned about costs of production Chapter 6

  5. Production Decisions of a Firm • Input Choices • Given input prices and production technology, the firm must choose how much of each input to use in producing output • Given prices of different inputs, the firm may choose different combinations of inputs to minimize costs Chapter 6

  6. Q: Decision Making of Owner-Manager • Suppose you are running a small business. • What is your objective? • What are you supposed to decide? • What is profit? • How can you make your profit max? Chapter 6 Chapter 8 6

  7. The Technology of Production • Production Function: • Indicates the highest output (q) that a firm can produce for every specified combination of inputs. • For simplicity, we will consider only labor (L) and capital (K) Chapter 6

  8. The Technology of Production • The production function for two inputs: q = F(K,L) • Output (q) is a function of capital (K) and Labor (L) • If technology increases, more output can be produced for a given level of inputs • Q: Why is raw material not included? Chapter 6

  9. The Technology of Production • Short-Run versus Long-Run • It takes time for a firm to adjust production from one set of inputs to another • Firms must consider not only what inputs can be varied but over what period of time that can occur • We must distinguish between long run and short run Chapter 6

  10. The Technology of Production • Short-Run • Period of time in which quantities of one or more production factors cannot be changed. • These inputs are called fixed inputs. • Long-run • Amount of time needed to make all production inputs variable. • Short-run and long-run are not time specific Chapter 6

  11. Production: One Variable Input • We assume capital is fixed and labor is variable • Output can only be increased by increasing labor • How does output change as the amount of labor is changed? Chapter 6

  12. Production: One Variable Input Chapter 6

  13. Production: One Variable Input • Observations: • When labor is zero, output is zero as well • With additional workers, output (q) increases up to 8 units of labor. • Beyond this point, output declines • Increasing labor can make better use of existing capital initially • After a point, more labor is not useful and can be counterproductive Chapter 6

  14. Production: One Variable Input • Average product of Labor - Output per unit of labor • Measures the productivity of a firm’s labor in terms of how much, on average, each worker can produce Chapter 6

  15. Production: One Variable Input • Marginal Product of Labor – additional output produced when labor increases by one unit • Change in output divided by the change in labor Chapter 6

  16. Production: One Variable Input Chapter 6

  17. D 112 Total Product C 60 B A Production: One Variable Input Output per Month At point D, output is maximized. Labor per Month 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Chapter 6

  18. Marginal Product E Average Product Labor per Month 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Production: One Variable Input Output per Worker • Left of E: MP > AP & AP is increasing • Right of E: MP < AP & AP is decreasing • At E: MP = AP & AP is at its maximum • At 8 units, MP is zero and output is at max 30 20 10 Chapter 6

  19. Marginal & Average Product • When marginal product is greater than the average product, the average product is increasing • When marginal product is less than the average product, the average product is decreasing • When marginal product is zero, total product (output) is at its maximum • Marginal product crosses average product at its maximum Chapter 6

  20. C 20 60 B 1 10 9 0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Labor Labor Product Curves AP is slope of line from origin to point on TP curve q q/L 112 30 10 Chapter 6

  21. q q D 112 30 60 30 10 A 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Labor Product Curves MP is slope of line tangent to corresponding point on TP curve 15 10 9 0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 Labor Chapter 6

  22. Law of Diminishing (Marginal) Returns • When the labor input is small and capital is fixed, output increases considerably since workers can begin to specialize and MP of labor increases • When the labor input is large, some workers become less efficient and MP of labor decreases Chapter 6

  23. Production: Two Variable Inputs • In the long run, capital and labor are both variable. • We can look at the output that can be achieved with different combinations of capital and labor. Chapter 6

  24. Production: Two Variable Inputs Chapter 6

  25. Production: Two Variable Inputs • The information can be represented graphically using isoquants • Curves showing all possible combinations of inputs that yield the same output • Curves are smooth to allow for use of fractional inputs • Curve 1 shows all possible combinations of labor and capital that will produce 55 units of output Chapter 6

  26. E 5 Capital per year 4 3 A B C 2 q3 = 90 D q2 = 75 1 q1 = 55 1 2 3 4 5 Labor per year Isoquant Map Ex: 55 units of output can be produced with 3K & 1L (pt. A) OR 1K & 3L (pt. D) Chapter 6

  27. Production: Two Variable Inputs • Holding capital at 3 and increasing labor from 0 to 1 to 2 to 3. • Output increases at a decreasing rate (0, 55, 20, 15) illustrating diminishing marginal returns from labor in the short-run and long-run. Chapter 6

  28. Production: Two Variable Inputs • Holding labor constant at 3 increasing capital from 0 to 1 to 2 to 3. • Output increases at a decreasing rate (0, 55, 20, 15) due to diminishing returns from capital in short-run and long-run. Chapter 6

  29. E 5 Capital per year 4 3 A B C 2 q3 = 90 D q2 = 75 1 q1 = 55 1 2 3 4 5 Labor per year Diminishing Returns Increasing labor holding capital constant (A, B, C) OR Increasing capital holding labor constant (E, D, C Chapter 6

  30. Production: Two Variable Inputs • Substituting Among Inputs • Slope of the isoquant shows how one input can be substituted for the other and keep the level of output the same. • Positive slope is the marginal rate of technical substitution (MRTS) Chapter 6

  31. Production: Two Variable Inputs • The Marginal Rate of Technical Substitution equals: Chapter 6

  32. 2 1 1 1 Q3 =90 2/3 1 1/3 Q2 =75 1 Q1 =55 Marginal Rate ofTechnical Substitution Capital per year 5 Slope measures MRTS MRTS decreases as move down the indifference curve 4 3 2 1 Labor per month 1 2 3 4 5 Chapter 6

  33. MRTS and Marginal Products • If we increase labor and decrease capital to keep output constant, we can see how much the increase in output is due to the increased labor • Amount of labor increased times the marginal productivity of labor Chapter 6

  34. MRTS and Marginal Products • Similarly, the decrease in output from the decrease in capital can be calculated • Decrease in output from reduction of capital times the marginal produce of capital Chapter 6

  35. MRTS and Marginal Products • If we are holding output constant, the net effect of increasing labor and decreasing capital must be zero • Using changes in output from capital and labor we can see Chapter 6

  36. MRTS and Marginal Products • Rearranging equation, we can see the relationship between MRTS and MPs Chapter 6

  37. Isoquants: Special Cases • Perfect substitutes • MRTS is constant at all points on isoquant • Same output can be produced with a lot of capital or a lot of labor or a balanced mix Chapter 6

  38. A B C Q1 Q2 Q3 Perfect Substitutes Capital per month Same output can be reached with mostly capital or mostly labor (A or C) or with equal amount of both (B) Labor per month Chapter 6

  39. Isoquants: Special Cases • Perfect Complements • Fixed proportions production function • There is no substitution available between inputs • The output can be made with only a specific proportion of capital and labor • Cannot increase output unless increase both capital and labor in that specific proportion Chapter 6

  40. Q3 C Q2 B Q1 K1 A L1 Fixed-ProportionsProduction Function Capital per month Same output can only be produced with one set of inputs. Labor per month Chapter 6

  41. Returns to Scale • Rate at which output increases as inputs are increased proportionately • Increasing returns to scale • Constant returns to scale • Decreasing returns to scale Chapter 6

  42. Capital (machine hours) 4 30 20 2 10 Labor (hours) 5 10 Increasing Returns to Scale The isoquants move closer together A Chapter 6

  43. Capital (machine hours) A 6 30 4 20 2 10 Labor (hours) 5 10 15 Returns to Scale Constant Returns: Isoquants are equally spaced Chapter 6

  44. A 4 15 2 12 10 5 10 Returns to Scale Capital (machine hours) Decreasing Returns: Isoquants get further apart Labor (hours) Chapter 6

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