CHAPTER TWO

THE THEORY OF PRODUCTION

3.1 Definition and Basic Concepts
 Production is the act of transforming inputs into
output (goods/service) to be used by consumers.\
 Transforming raw materials into final products
require factor inputs
Inputs and outputs
 Inputs are factors of production, that used to
produce output
 Factors of production are often classified into broad
categories such as land, labor, capital, and
entrepreneurial skills.
 In economics, inputs can be classified as fixed &
variable.
i) Fixed inputs: are those inputs whose quantity
cannot readily be changed when market
conditions indicate that an immediate change in
output is required
For example, if the demand for beer shoots up
suddenly in a week, the brewery factories cannot
plant additional machinery over a night to respond
to the increased demand.
 It takes long time to buy new machineries, to
plant them and use for production.
 In fact no input is ever absolutely fixed, but may
be fixed during an immediate requirement.
ii) Variable inputs: are those inputs whose quantity
can be changed almost instantaneously in response
to desired changes in output.
 That is, their quantity can easily be diminished
when the market demand for the product decreases
and vise versa.
 The best example of variable input is unskilled
labor.
Example: if the brewery factory had idle machinery
before the market demand shot up, the factory can
easily and immediately respond to the market
condition by hiring laborers.
Short run Vs. long run
i) Short run
 In economics, short run refers to that period of time in
which the quantity of at least one input is fixed.
For example, if it requires a firm one year to change the
quantities of all the inputs, those time periods below one
year are considered as short run.
 Thus, short run is that time period which is not sufficient
to change the quantities of all inputs, so that at least
one input remains fixed.
 NOTE: short run periods of different firms have
different duration.
 Some firms can change the quantity of all their
inputs within a month while it takes more than a
year to change the quantity of all inputs for
another type of firms.
For example, the time required to change the
quantities of inputs in an automobile factory is not
equal with that of flour factory.
 The later takes relatively shorter time.
ii) Long run
 The time period (planning horizon) which is.
sufficient to change the quantities of all
inputs
 Thus there is no fixed input in the long-run.
Production function is a technical relation between
inputs used in production process and output.
 It represents the maximum amount that a firm can
produce using a given amount of inputs.
 It describes the laws of proportions, i.e., the
transformation of factor inputs into products
(outputs).
 If there are only two inputs, labor (L) and capital
(K), then the production function can be stated as
 Production function describes the boundary of
production set- measuring the maximum possible
output that you can get from a given amount of
inputs (Figure 3.1).
 Figure 3.1: production function and production set
The production set shows the possible
technological choices facing a firm.
 A good can be produced by various
methods of production:
 Graphically, it can be presented as in Figure 3.2.

Figure 3.2: Method of production(Processes, Activities, production

techniques).
 A production is said to be technically efficient when the
process uses less of at least one of the inputs and no more
of the other inputs.
3.2 Short Run Production
 Is production with at least one fixed input (while
the others are variable).
Assumption of short run production analysis
 Classical economist assumed the following:
i) Perfect divisibility of inputs and outputs
 Implies fraction of labor, a fraction of
manager and a fraction of output, such as a
fraction of automobile is possible.
ii) Limited substitution between inputs
 Factor inputs can substitute each other up to
a certain point, beyond which they cannot
substitute each other.
iii) Constant technology
 It is assumed that the level of technology of production is
constant in the short run.
 Suppose a firm that uses two inputs: Capital (call it
factor 2) (which is a fixed input) and labor (which is
variable input).
 Given the assumptions of short run production, the firm
can increase output only by increasing the amount of
labor it uses.
 Thus, the relevant production function for the short run is
 Note that we have drawn the short-run production
function as getting flatter and flatter as the amount
of variable input increases.
• This is just the law of diminishing marginal
product in action again.
• Of course, it can easily happen that there is an initial
region of increasing marginal returns where the
marginal product of factor 1 increases as we add
more of it.
 the first few workers added increase output more
and more because they would be able to divide up
jobs efficiently, and so on.
 But given the fixed amount of land, eventually the
marginal product of labor will decline.
Figure 3.3: Short run production curve
Total, Average, and Marginal Product
 In production, the contribution of a variable input can be
described in terms of total, average and marginal
product.
A) Total product (TP): is the total amount
of output that can be produced by efficiently utilizing specific
combinations of the variable input and fixed input.
 Increasing the variable input (while some other inputs are
fixed) can increase the total product only up to a certain
point.
 Initially, as we combine more and more units of the
variable input with the fixed input, output continues to
increase.
 But eventually, if we employ more and more unit of the
variable input beyond the carrying capacity of the fixed
input, output tends to decline.
 In general, the TP initially increases at an increasing
rate, then increases at a decreasing rate, reaches a
maximum point and eventually falls as the quantity
of the variable input rises.
B) Marginal Product (MP)
 It is the change in output attributed to the addition of
one unit of the variable input to the production
process, other inputs being constant.
 For instance, the change in total output resulting from
employing additional worker (holding other inputs
constant) is the marginal product of labour (MPL).
 In other words, MPL measures the slope of the total
product curve at a given point.
 In the short run, as we continue to combine more and
more of the variable input with the fixed input, the
MP of the variable input first increases, reaches its
maximum and then decreases to the extent of being
negative.
C) Average Product (AP): is the level of output
that each unit of input produces, on average.
 It tells us the mean contribution of each variable
input to the total product.
 Mathematically, the average product of labour (APL),
for instance, is given by:

 first increases, reaches its maximum, and eventually

declines.
Figure 3.4: Total product, Average product, and marginal product
curves
 Assuming that this short run production curve
represents a certain car manufacturing industry, it
implies that L3 numbers of workers are required
to efficiently run the machineries.
 If the numbers of workers fall below L3, the
machine is not fully operating, resulting in a fall in
TP below TP3.
 On the other hand, increasing the number of workers
above L3 will do nothing for the production
process because only L3 number of workers can
efficiently run the machine.
 Increasing the number of workers above L3, rather
results in lower total product because it results in
overcrowded and unfavorable working environment.
 Marginal product curve increases until L1
number of labor reaches its maximum at L1, and
then it tends to fall.
 The MPL is zero at L3 (when the TP is
maximum); beyond which its value assumes zero
indicating that each additional worker above L3
tends to create over crowded working condition
and reduces the total product.
 Thus, in the short run (where some inputs are
fixed), the MP of successive units of labor hired
increases initially, but not continuously,
resulting in the limit to the total production.
 The slope of the TP curve increases (MP
increases) up to L1, it decreases from L1 to
L3 and it becomes negative beyond L3.
 The average product curve increases up to L2,
beyond which it continuously declines.
 The AP curve can be measured by the slope of
rays originating from the origin to a point on
the TP curve.
 The Relationship b/n AP and MP of the variable input
 The relationship between and can be shown algebraically as
follows:
• Suppose the production function is given as
TP  f ( L, K ), where input K is fixed at K
 Given the total product function,
dTP df ( L, K ) TP f ( L, K )
MPL   and APL  
dL dL L L
 To determine the relationship between and , consider the
slope of the function.
 f ( L, K )  df ( L, K ) dL
d    f ( L, K )
d ( APL)  L 
Slope of APL    dL dL
2
(quotient rule of derivative )
dL dL L

df ( L, K ) df ( L, K ) f ( L, K )
f ( L, K ) MPL  APL
 dL2   dL  L  ,
L L2 L L L
df ( L, K ) f ( L, K )
because MPL and  APL
dL L
 Thus,
 When , Slope of is positive ( rises).
 When , Slope of is zero ( is at its maximum).
 When, Slope of APL is negative ( falls).
 From fig 3.4,
 At , , and thus is at its maximum.
 Below , , and thus, rises.
 After , , and thus falls.
 The Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns
(LDMR)
 is a short run law of production.
 It states that as the use of an input increases in equal
increments (with other inputs being fixed), a point will
eventually be reached at which the resulting additions to
output decreases.
 When the labor input is small (and capital is fixed), extra labor
adds considerably to output, often because workers get the
chance to specialize in one or few tasks.
 Eventually, however, the LDMR operates: when the number
of workers increases further, some workers will inevitably
become ineffective and the MPL falls (this happens when the
number of workers exceeds L1 in Fig 3.4).
 NOTE: the LDMR operates (MP of successive units of labor
decreases) not because highly qualified laborers are hired first and
the least qualified last.
 Diminishing marginal returns results from limitations on the use
of other fixed inputs (e.g. machinery), not from decline in
worker quality.
 The LDMR applies to a given production technology (when the
level of technology is fixed).
 Over time, however, technological improvements in the
production process may allow the entire total product curve shift
upward, so that more output can be produced with the same input.
 Efficient Region of Production in the
short-run
We are not yet in a position to determine the specific number of the
variable input (labor) that the firm should employ.
 because this depends on several other factors than the productivity
of labor such as the price of labor, the structure of input and
output markets, the demand for output, etc.
 However, it is possible to determine ranges over which the
variable input (labor) should be employed.
Figure 3.5: Production Stages
 The three stages of production are characterized by the
slope and shape of the total product curve.
 The first stage is characterized by an increasingly
positive slope,
 The second stage by a decreasingly positive slope, and
 The third stage by a negative slope.
 Because the slope of the total product curve is marginal
product, these three stages are also seen with marginal
product.
 In Stage I, marginal product is positive and
increasing.
 In Stage II, marginal product is positive, but
decreasing (law of diminishing marginal returns).
And in Stage III, marginal product is negative.
Economic Production
 These three distinct stages of short-run production are not
equally important.
 Stage I, increasing marginal returns, is a great place to
visit, but most firms move through it quickly.
• Because each variable input is increasingly more
productive, firms employ as many as they can, as quickly as
they can.
 Stage II, with decreasing but positive marginal returns,
provides a range of production that is suitable to most firm.
 Stage III, negative marginal returns, is not particularly
attractive to firms.
• Production is less than it would be in Stage II, but the cost
of production is greater due to the employment of the
variable input.
 Although marginal product declines, additional
employment of the variable input does add to total
production.
 Even though production cost rises with additional
employment, there are benefits to be gained from extra
production.
 The trick is to balance the extra cost with the extra
production.
 As a matter of fact, because Stage II tends to be the
choice of firms for short-run production, it is often
referred to as the "economic region."
 Firms quickly move from Stage I to Stage II, and do all
they can to avoid moving into Stage III.
 Firms can comfortably, and profitably, produce forever
and ever in Stage II.
3.3. Long Run Production
 Remember that long run is a period of time (planning
horizon) which is sufficient for the firm to change the
quantity of all inputs.
 To simplify, assume that the firm uses two inputs (labor and
capital) and both are variable.
 The firm can now produce its output in a variety of ways by
combining different amounts of labor and capital.
 With variable factors, a firm can usually produce a given level
of output by using a great deal of labor and very little
capital or a great deal of capital and very little labor or
moderate amount of both.
 In this section, we will see how a firm can choose among
combinations of labor and capital that generate the same
output. To do so, we make the use of isoquant.
 So it is necessary to first see what is meant by isoquants and
their properties.
ISOQUANTS
• An isoquant is a curve that shows all possible efficient
combinations of inputs that can yield equal level of output.
• If both labor and capital are variable inputs, the production
function will have the following form.

• Given this production function, the equation of an isoquant,

where output is held constant at q is
 Thus, isoquants show the flexibility that firms
have when making production decision: they can
usually obtain a particular output (q) by
substituting one input for the other.
Isoquant maps: when a number of isoquants are
combined in a single graph, we call the graph an
isoquant map.
 An isoquant map is another way of describing a
production function.
 Each isoquant represents a different level of
output and the level of outputs increases as we
move up and to the right.
 Figure 3.6 shows isoquants and isoquant map.
Figure 3.6: Production Stages
 Isoquants show the fact that long run production process is very
flexible.
 A firm can produce q1 level of output by using either 3 capital and
1 labor or 2 capital and 3 labor or 1 capital and 6 labor or any other
combination of labor and labor on the curve.
 The set of isoquant curves q1 q2 & q3 are called isoquant map.
 Properties of Isoquants
i) Isoquants slope downward
 Because isoquants denote efficient combination of inputs
that yield the same output, isoquants always have negative
slope.
 Isoquants can never be horizontal, vertical or upward
sloping.
• If for example, isoquants have to assume zero slopes
(horizontal line) only one point on the isoquant is efficient.
(See figure 3.7).
 Thus, efficiently requires that isoquants must be negatively
sloped.
• As employment of one factor increases, the employment of the
other factor must decrease to produce the same quantity
efficiently.
Figure 3.7: exception isoquants
ii) Higher IQs denote higher outputs
 The further an isoquant lays away from the origin, the
greater the level of output it denotes.
 The more inputs used, more outputs should be obtained
if the firm is producing efficiently.
 Thus efficiency requires that higher IQs must denote
higher level of output.
iii) Isoquants do not cross each other
 intersections are inconsistent with the definition IQs.
 Consider Figure 3.8. This figure shows that the firm
can produce at either output level (20 or 50) with the
same combination of labor and capital (L* and K*).
 The firm must be producing inefficiently if it produces
q = 20, because it could produce q = 50 by the same
combination of labor and capital (L* and K*).
 Thus, efficiency requires that IQs do not cross each
other.
Figure 3.8: Intersecting Isoquants
IV) Isoquants must be thin

Figure 3.9. Isoquants can never be thick. Points A and B are on the same isoquant.
But point A denotes higher amount of capital and the same amount of labor as point
B. Hence point A denotes inefficient combination of inputs and thus it lies out of the
isoquant. The isoquant should be thin if point A is to be excluded from the isoquant.
Special Shape of Isoquants
i) Linear Isoquants
 Isoquants would be linear when labor and capital are
perfect substitutes for each other.
 In this case the slope of an isoquant is constant.
 As a result, the same output can be produced with
only capital or only labor or an infinite combination
of both.
Figure 3.10. Libear isoquants:
Capital and Labour can perfectly
substitute each other so that the
same output (q=100) can be
produced by using either 1oK or 8K
and 12L or 15L or an infinite
combination of both inputs
ii) Input output isoquant(Leontief isoquant)
 This assumes strict-complementarities or zero
substitutability of factors of production(Impossible to make
any substitution among inputs).
 Each level of Q requires a specific combination of L and K.
 That is additional Q cannot be obtained unless more capital
and labor are added in specific proportions.
iii) Kinked isoquants
 This assumes limited substitution between inputs; inputs
can substitute each other only at some points.
 Thus, the isoquant is kinked and there are only a few
alternative combinations of inputs to produce .
 These isoquants are also called linear programming
isoquants or activity analysis isoquants.
iv) Smooth, convex isoquants
 This shape of isoquant assumes continuous
substitution of capital and labor over a certain
range, beyond which factors cannot substitute each
other.
 Basically, kinked isoquants are more realistic for there
is often limited (not infinite) method of producing a
given level of output.
 However, traditional economic theory mostly adopted
the continuous isoquants because they are
mathematically simple to handle by the simple rule
of calculus, and they are approximation of the more
realistic isoquants(the kidded isoquants).
 From now we use the smooth and convex isoquants to
analyze the long run production.
Figure 3.13 the smooth and convex isoquant : This type of isoquant is the
limiting case of the kinked isoquant when the number kink is infinite. The slope of
the iso quant decrease as we move from the top (left) to the right (bottom) along the
isoquant. This indicates that the amount by which the quantity of one input
(capital)can be reduced when one extra unit of another inputs(labor)is used ( so
that output remains constant) decreases as more of the latter input (labor)is used.
Marginal Rate of Technical Substitution
(MRTS)
 MRTS is the slope of an isoquant.
 The slope of an isoquantindicates how the quantity of one
input can be traded off against the quantity of the other,
while output is held constant.
 The MRTS shows the amount by which the quantity of
one input can be reduced when one extra unit of another
input is used, so that output remains constant.
 MRTS of labor for capital, denoted as shows the amount
by which the input of capital can be reduced when one
extra unit of labor is used, so that output remains constant.
 decreases as the firm continues to substitute labor for
capital (or as more of labor is used).
 In fig.3.13 to increase the amount of labor from 1 to 2, the
firm reduces 4 units of capital (K=4), to increase labor
from 2 to 3, the firm reduce 2 unit of capital (K=2), and
so on.
 Hence, the firm reduces lower and lower number of capital
for the successive one unit of labor.
 The reason is that when the number of capital is large and
that of labor is low, the productivity of capital is relatively
lower and that of labor is higher (due to the low of
diminishing marginal returns).
 Thus, at this point relatively large amount of capital is
required to replace one unit of labor (or one unit of labor
can replace relatively large amount of capital).
 As the employment of labor increases and that of
capital decreases (as we move down ward along
the isoquant in the direction of increasing L), quite
the reverse will happen.
 That is, productivity of capital increases and
that of labor decreases.
 The fact that the slope of an isoquant is decreasing
makes an isoquant convex to the origin.
 (the slope of isoquant) can also be given by the ratio of
marginal products of factors.
 That is,

Algebraically: Let the production function be given as:

 Then, as output is constant along the isoquant curve,

 Taking total differentiation,

 ….The rate of substitution L for K.

 Similarly,
 ….The rate of substitution K for L.
The Efficient Region of Production: Long Run
 In principle the marginal product of a factor may assume
any value, positive, zero or negative.
 However, the basic production theory concentrates only
on the efficient part of the production function, i.e. over
the range of output over which the marginal products of
the factors are positive and declining.
 Recall the efficient region in the short run is Stage II
where is declining but
 Similarly, efficient region of production in the long run
prevails when the marginal product of all variable
inputs is positive but decreasing.
 Graphically, this can be represented by the negatively
slopped part of an isoquant.
 The locus of points of isoquants where the marginal
products of factors are zero form the Ridge Lines.
 The upper ridge line implies that the is zero.
 is negative for all points above the upper ridge line and
positive for points below the ridge line.
 The lower ridge line implies that the is zero.
 MPL is negative for all points below the lower ridge line
the and positive for points above the line.
 Production techniques are technically efficient inside the
ridge lines.
 Symbolically, in the long run efficient production region
can be illustrated as:
but, and,
but,
Figure 3.14: Thus efficient region of production is defined by
the range of isoquants over which they are convex to the
origin.
The Law of Returns to Scale: The
long run law of production
 The laws of production describe the technically possible
ways of increasing the level of production.
 Output may increase in various ways.
 In the LONG RUN output can be increased by changing
all factors of production.
 This long run analysis of production is called Law of
returns to scale.
 In the SHORT RUN output may be increased by using
more of the variable factor, while capital (and possibly
other factors as well) are kept constant.
 The expansion of output with one factor (at least)
constant is described by the law of variable
proportion or the law of diminishing returns of the
variable factor.
 Expansion of output may be achieved by varying all
factors of production by the same proportion or by
different proportions.
 The traditional theory of production concentrates on
the first case, i.e. the study of output as all inputs
change by the same proportion.
 Therefore, the term returns to scale refers to the
change in output as all factors change by the same
proportion.
 Suppose initially the production function is If we increase
all factors by the same proportion t, we clearly obtain a
new level of output X* where, X
 If X* increases by the same proportion t or if , we
say that there is constant returns to scale.
 If X* increases less than proportionally with the
increase in the factors (or if X* increases by a
proportion less than t), we have decreasing
returns to scale.
 If X* increases more than proportionally with the
increase in the factors (by a more than t
proportion), we have increasing returns to scale.
Returns to scale and homogeneity of
production function
 Suppose we increase both factors of the function by the
same proportion ‘t’, and we get the new level of output
 If t can be factored out (that is, may be taken out of the
brackets as a common factors), then the new level of
output X* can be expressed as a function of t (to any
power V), and the initial level of output, then the
production function is said to be homogeneous.
or
 If t cannot be factored out, the production function is non-
homogeneous.
 Thus, a homogeneous function is a function such that if
each of the input is multiplied by t, then t can be
completely factored out of the function.
 The power V of t is called degree of homogeneity of the
function and is a measure of returns to scale.
 If , we have constant returns to scale. This production
function is sometimes called linear homogeneous
 If , increasing return to scale prevails, and
 If , decreasing return scale prevail.
Example: For a Cobb-Douglas production function , and it is a
measure of returns to scale.
 Thus,
Equilibrium of the firm:
Choice of optimal combination of factors of
production
 In our previous discussion we have said that an
isoquant denotes efficient combination of labor and
capital required to produce a given level of output.
 However, monetary cost of producing a given level
of output is constant along an isoquant.
 That is, though different combinations of labor and
capital on a given isoquant yield the same level of
output, the cost of these different combinations of labor
and capital could differ because the prices of the inputs
can differ.
 Thus, isoquant shows only technically efficient
combinations of inputs, not economically efficient
combinations.
 Technical efficiency takes in to account the physical
quantity of inputs whereas economic efficiency goes
beyond technical efficiency and seeks to find the
least cost (in monetary terms) combination of
inputs among the various technically efficient
combinations.
 Hence, technical efficiency is a necessary
condition, but not a sufficient condition for
economic efficiency.
 To determine the economically efficient input
combinations we need to have the prices of inputs.
 To determine the economically efficient input
combination, the following simplifying assumptions
hold true:
 Isocost Line
 Isocost lines have most of the same properties as that of
budget lines.
 An isocost line is the locus of points denoting all
combination of factors that a firm can purchase with a
given monetary outlay, given prices of factors.
 The cost equation is given by

where K and L are quantities of capital and labor

respectively.
 Given the cost outlay C , the maximum amounts of
capital and labor that the firm can purchase are equal to
C/r and C/w, respectively.
 The straight line that connects these points is the isocost
line (Figure 1.15).
 The equation of the isocost line can be obtained from the cost
equation and is .
 The problem of determining optimal input combination
(economic efficiency) under constrained optimization
takes two forms.
i) maximize output given a constant cost out lay
and prices of inputs.
ii) Minimize cost to produce a predetermined
(given) level of output.
Case_1: Output Maximization
 If the firm already decides the total budget (expenditure)
for the production, the choice is to maximize Q subject
to the given cost.
 In this case, the optimal output is attained when the isocost
is tangent to an isoquant.
 In general, optimality requires,
i) The tangency between isocost line and isoquant i.e. slope of
the isocost line() is equal to slope of isoquant curve().
 Thus,

ii) The convexity of the isoquant curve i.e. slope of and

 The second ordered condition(S.O.C) is for the isoquant to
be convex i.e. the slope of the isoquant should be negative.
 The S.O.C(the convexity of isoquant) would be insured when:
 slope of
 slope of and,

Example 1: Suppose the production function of a firm is given
as in which prices of labor and capital are $5 and $10. If the
cost outlay of the firm is $600 then find the combination of
labor and capital that maximizes the firm’s output and, the
maximum output.
Solution:
 The first order condition is
 Thus, the equilibrium exists when

 The constraint is i.e. 5

 Then, by substituting equation (1) in to the budget constraint

; and
 Thus, the firm should use 60 units of labor and 30 units of
capital to maximize its production (output).
 The maximum output can be found by substituting 60 and 30
for L and K in the production process, and is 6.71 units.
 The S.O.C also need to be satisfied.
slope of , and
slope of
Example 2: given , birr, birr and birr find L*, K*, and Q*.
-Find the quantity of L and K at optimum combination
- Maximum output
Case_2: Cost Minimization
 In this case, consider an entrepreneur (a firm) who wants
to produce a given output (for example a bridge or a
building or x tones of a commodity) with minimum cost
outlay.
 That is, we have a single isoquant which denotes the
desired level of output, but there are a set of isocost lines
which denotes the different cost outlays.
 Higher isocost lines denote higher production costs.
 The production costs of a desired level of output will
therefore be minimized when the isoquant line is
tangent to the lowest possible isocost line (see Figure
3.18).
 At the point of tangency, the slope of the isoquant and
isocost lines are identical i.e.
 The second ordered condition(S.O.C) is for the isoquant to
be convex i.e. the slope of the isoquant should be negative.
 The S.O.C(the convexity of isoquant) would be insured when:
 slope of
 slope of and,

 Example: Suppose a certain contractor wants to maximize profit
from building one bridge. The contractor uses both labor and
capital, and efficient combinations of Labor and capital that are
sufficient to make a bridge is given by the function
𝟎 .𝟓 𝟎.𝟓
𝟏=𝟎 .𝟐𝟓 𝑳 𝑲
 If the prices of labor (w) and capital (r) are $5 and $10
respectively, find the least cost combination of L and K, and the
minimum cost.
Solution: The contractor wants to build one bridge. Thus, the
constraint equation can be written as
 The

 At equilibrium condition ;
 Substituting equation (1) in to the constraint

, ;
 Therefore, the efficient combinations(least cost
combination) of L and K are and , respectively.
 The least cost will be

 The S.O.C also need to be satisfied(Check the S.O.C)

Example_2: Given , w=10 and r=5. the firm’s plan of

producing 128, 000 units, find , and .
(Answer: , and
THE END