Chulalongkorn University: BBA International Program, Faculty of Commerce and

Accountancy

2900111 (Section 1) Chairat Aemkulwat

Economics I: Microeconomics Spring 2015

Solution to Selected Questions: CHAPTER 6

PRODUCTION

2. Suppose a chair manufacturer is producing in the short run (with its existing plant
and equipment). The manufacturer has observed the following levels of production
corresponding to different numbers of workers:
Number of chairs Number of workers
1 10
2 18
3 24
4 28
5 30
6 28
7 25

a. Calculate the marginal and average product of labor for this production
function.
q
The average product of labor, APL, is equal to . The marginal product of
L
q
labor, MPL, is equal to , the change in output divided by the change in labor
L
input. For this production process we have:

L q APL MPL

0 0
1 10 10 10
2 18 9 8
3 24 8 6
4 28 7 4
5 30 6 2
6 28 4.7 –2
7 25 3.6 –3

b. Does this production function exhibit diminishing returns to labor? Explain.

Yes, this production process exhibits diminishing returns to labor. The marginal
product of labor, the extra output produced by each additional worker,

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 diminishes as workers are added, and this starts to occur with the second unit of
labor.

c. Explain intuitively what might cause the marginal product of labor to become
negative.
Labor’s negative marginal product for L > 5 may arise from congestion in the
chair manufacturer’s factory. Since more laborers are using the same fixed
amount of capital, it is possible that they could get in each other’s way,
decreasing efficiency and the amount of output. Firms also have to control the
quality of their output, and the high congestion of labor may produce products
that are not of a high enough quality to be offered for sale, which can contribute
to a negative marginal product.

3. Fill in the gaps in the table below.

Quantity of Total Marginal Product Average Product

Variable Input Output of Variable Input of Variable Input

0 0 – –
1 225
2 300
3 300
4 1140
5 225
6 225

Quantity of Total Marginal Product Average Product

Variable Input Output of Variable Input of Variable Input

0 0
1 225 225 225
2 600 375 300
3 900 300 300
4 1140 240 285
5 1365 225 273
6 1350 –15 225

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5. For each of the following examples, draw a representative isoquant. What can you say
about the marginal rate of technical substitution in each case?
a. A firm can hire only full-time employees to produce its output, or it can hire
some combination of full-time and part-time employees. For each full-time
worker let go, the firm must hire an increasing number of temporary employees
to maintain the same level of output.
Place part-time workers on the vertical axis and Part-time
full-time workers on the horizontal. The slope of
the isoquant measures the number of part-time
workers that can be exchanged for a full-time
worker while still maintaining output. At the
bottom end of the isoquant, at point A, the isoquant
hits the full-time axis because it is possible to
produce with full-time workers only and no part-
timers. As we move up the isoquant and give up
full-time workers, we must hire more and more
part-time workers to replace each full-time worker. A
The slope increases (in absolute value) as we move Full-time
up the isoquant. The isoquant is therefore convex
and there is a diminishing marginal rate of technical substitution.
b. A firm finds that it can always trade two units of labor for one unit of capital and
still keep output constant.
The marginal rate of technical substitution measures the number of units of capital that can
be exchanged for a unit of labor while still maintaining output. If the firm can always
trade two units of labor for one unit of capital then the MRTS of labor for capital is
constant and equal to 1/2, and the isoquant is linear.
c. A firm requires exactly two full-time workers to operate each piece of machinery
in the factory
This firm operates under a fixed proportions technology, and the isoquants are L-shaped.
The firm cannot substitute any labor for capital and still maintain output because it must
maintain a fixed 2:1 ratio of labor to capital. The MRTS is infinite (or undefined) along
the vertical part of the isoquant and zero on the horizontal part.

6. A firm has a production process in which the inputs to production are perfectly
substitutable in the long run. Can you tell whether the marginal rate of technical
substitution is high or low, or is further information necessary? Discuss.

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 Further information is necessary. The marginal rate of technical substitution,
MRTS, is the absolute value of the slope of an isoquant. If the inputs are perfect
substitutes, the isoquants will be linear. To calculate the slope of the isoquant,
and hence the MRTS, we need to know the rate at which one input may be
substituted for the other. In this case, we do not know whether the MRTS is
high or low. All we know is that it is a constant number. We need to know the
marginal product of each input to determine the MRTS.

9. The production function for the personal computers of DISK, Inc., is given by q 
10K0.5L0.5, where q is the number of computers produced per day, K is hours of machine
time, and L is hours of labor input. DISK’s competitor, FLOPPY, Inc., is using the
production function
q  10K0.6L0.4.
a. If both companies use the same amounts of capital and labor, which will generate more
output?
Let q1 be the output of DISK, Inc., q2, be the output of FLOPPY, Inc., and X be the same
equal amounts of capital and labor for the two firms. Then according to their production
functions,
q1  10X0.5X0.5  10X(0.5  0.5)  10X
and
q2  10X0.6X0.4  10X(0.6  0.4)  10X.
Because q1  q2, both firms generate the same output with the same inputs. Note that if the
two firms both used the same amount of capital and the same amount of labor, but the
amount of capital was not equal to the amount of labor, then the two firms would not
produce the same levels of output. In fact, if K  L then q2  q1, and if L  K then q1  q2.
b. Assume that capital is limited to 9 machine hours, but labor is unlimited in supply. In
which company is the marginal product of labor greater? Explain.
With capital limited to 9 machine hours, the production functions become q1  30L0.5 and
q2  37.37L0.4. To determine the production function with the highest marginal productivity
of labor, consider the following table:

q MPL q MPL
L Firm 1 Firm 1 Firm 2 Firm 2
0 0.0 — 0.00 —
1 30.00 30.00 37.37 37.37
2 42.43 12.43 49.31 11.94
3 51.96 9.53 57.99 8.68
4 60.00 8.04 65.06 7.07

For each unit of labor above 1, the marginal productivity of labor is greater for the first firm,
DISK, Inc.

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