Question

Assume that a profit-maximizing firm which competes in a purely competitive product industry has only two factor inputs, labor and capital, and that resource prices remain constant. This firm finds that the marginal revenue product of labor (MRP) when divided by the price for labor (MRC) is less than one. The firm also finds that the marginal revenue product for capital (MRP) when divided by the price (MRC) is greater than one. If this firm wishes to produce the same amount of output with these two resources, but minimize the cost of output, this firm must employ:________
a. less labor and more capital
b. more capital
c. more labor and capital
d. less labor
e. more labor and less capital

Answer 1

Answer: a. less labor and more capital

Explanation:

When the Marginal Revenue Product of Labor (MRP) is divided by the price for labor (MRC), the result is less than 1. This means that for every dollar spent on labor, labor produces less than a dollar. The labor is therefore not efficient.

This is the reverse for capital where the marginal revenue product for capital (MRP) when divided by the price (MRC) is greater than one which means that for every dollar investment in capital, more than a dollar is made.

As capital is more efficient, it would make sense to invest more in capital whilst reducing the investment in labor as this would lead to more gain for the company.