Skip to main content

Suppose that the marginal product of the last worker employed by a firm is 40 units of output per day and the daily wage that the firm must pay is...

If you are maximizing output for fixed cost or minimizing cost for fixed output (there is a duality that makes these two optimization problems equivalent), the price you pay for a given amount of marginal product will be the same. So if they were maximizing profit, they would be paying the same rate for marginal product of capital as for marginal product of labor.

I can prove this using a Lagrangian; I will as a sort of "appendix" below. If that's too advanced for what you're familiar with, just don't worry about that appendix and take it as given that price of marginal product should be equal for maximizing profit.

But they are not; they have too much labor, not enough capital.

Since their marginal product of labor is 40 units per day, for which they are paying a wage w of $20 per day, this is how much they're paying for marginal product of labor:

w/MPL = 20/40 = $0.50 per unit

Since their marginal product of capital is 120 units per day, for which they are paying rent r of $30 per day, this is how much they're paying for marginal product of capital:

r/MPK = 30/120 = $0.25 per unit

Appendix:

For output function f(K,L) of products sold at price P, we are maximizing profit PF. We pay rent r on capital and wage w for labor; thus our constraint is r K + w L = C where C is a constant, how much money we have to spend. (Its precise value won't matter for the theorem, so long as it is a constant.)

PF = P * f(K,L) + lambda (rK + wL - C)

dPF/dK = 0 = P * f_K + lambda r
dPF/dL = 0 = P * f_L + lambda w

Solve for lambda in each case:
lambda = - P * f_K / r = - P * f_L / w
f_K / r = f_L / w
r/f_K = w/f_L
where the partial derivatives f_K and f_L are just the marginal products of capital and labor respectively.
r/MPK = w/MPL.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...

Discuss movements that were inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and list one success for each group.

African-Americans contributed in a very big way during World War II. These contributions were demonstrated at home and on the battlefield. After the war, African-Americans properly felt it was time for them to achieve equality with white Americans. During the 1950's, the modern Civil Rights Movement was born and it had a number of successes (integration of the military and Brown vs. Board of Education as examples.) This success inspired other activists to demand change... African-Americans contributed in a very big way during World War II. These contributions were demonstrated at home and on the battlefield. After the war, African-Americans properly felt it was time for them to achieve equality with white Americans. During the 1950's, the modern Civil Rights Movement was born and it had a number of successes (integration of the military and Brown vs. Board of Education as examples.) This success inspired other activists to demand change for their agendas. Two examples of moveme...

Follow the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker. They endure over two hundred days of hardship together, but in the end Richard Parker leaves...

When Pi and Richard Parker are at the beginning of their journey, after Pi's family is killed in the shipwreck, Pi fears Richard Parker, but he is forced to find a way to co-exist with him in order to survive.  Over time the two develop a somewhat co-dependent relationship.  Richard Parker depends on Pi to feed him by catching fish, while Pi's will to live is bolstered by Richard Parker's presence.  Richard Parker recognizes that... When Pi and Richard Parker are at the beginning of their journey, after Pi's family is killed in the shipwreck, Pi fears Richard Parker, but he is forced to find a way to co-exist with him in order to survive.  Over time the two develop a somewhat co-dependent relationship.  Richard Parker depends on Pi to feed him by catching fish, while Pi's will to live is bolstered by Richard Parker's presence.  Richard Parker recognizes that he also needs Pi to survive.  At one point in the book, Pi's starvation and thirst reduce him to a st...