The current market wage rate is \(10, the rental rate of land is \)1,000per unit, and the rental rate of capital is $500. Production managers at a firm find that under their current allocation of factors of production, the marginal product of labor is 100, the marginal product of land is 10,000, and the marginal product of capital is 4,000. Is the firm minimizing costs? Why or why not?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Since the MPP of land as well as the price of land are not equal to the MPP of labour and the price of labour, and the MPP of capital and also the price of capital, the firm is not minimizing costs.

Step by step solution

01

Introduction.

The marginal product of capital is the extra output produced by adding one unit of capital, usually cash. This metric is frequently applied to start-ups that rely on private investment to get their operations off the ground.

The marginal product of labour is the extra output generated by hiring another worker.

02

Given Information.

The following are the given information:

Current market wage rate is $10

Rental rate of land is $1000per unit.

Rental rate of capital is $500

The marginal product of labor is 100

The marginal product of land is 10000

The marginal product of capital is4000

03

The Marginal physical product of Labor.

The company will hire various production factors until the marginal physical product equals the value money spent on factors. Symbolically, it could be stated as follows.

MPPofLaborPriceofLabor=MPPofCapitalPriceofCapital=MPPofLandPriceofLand

When calculating a firm's cost, the marginal physical product of labour and capital is taken into account.

04

Find the the firm minimizing costs or not.

Labor costs $10, and the marginal physical product (MPP) is 100.

The capital price is $500, and the capital MPP is 4,000.

The cost of land is $1,000, and the MPP is $10,000. Therefore,

10010=10,0001,0004,000500

As a result, the firm is not minimizing costs because the MPP of land and the price of land are not equal to the MPP of labour, the price of labour, and the MPP of capital and the price of capital.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Consider Figure 28-7. Suppose that the monopolist is contemplating hiring 14 units of labor, which it knows would cause the marginal product to decline to 150 units of output per unit of labor. The product price also decreases to \(4.50 per unit, and the firm's marginal revenue declines to \)3.20 per unit. What would be the firm's marginal revenue product if it hires a 14th unit of labor?

Understand why a firm's marginal revenue product curve is its labor demand curve.

If clothing manufacturers were to substitute robotic sewing machines for human labor, would you anticipate that the prices of these two resources would remain unchanged? Explain your reasoning.

Since the beginning of this century, there has been a significant increase in the price of corn-based ethanol.

a. A key input in the production of com-based ethanol is com. Use an appropriate diagram to explain what has likely occurred in the market for corn if the supply curve has not shifted.

b. In light of your answer to part (a), explain why many hog farmers, who in the past used corn as the main feed input in hog production, have switched to cookies, licorice, cheese curls, candy bars, and other human snack foods instead of corn as food for their hogs.

Refer back to your answers to Problem 28-1 in answering the following questions.

a. What is the maximum wage the firm will be willing to pay if it hires 15 workers?

b. The weekly wage paid by computer printer manufacturers in a perfectly competitive market is $1200. How many workers will the profit-maximizing employer hire?

c. Suppose that there is an increase in the demand for printed digital photos. Explain the likely effects on marginal revenue product, marginal factor cost, and the number of workers hired by the firm?

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