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Wire-grid Cobb–Douglas production surface with isoquants A two-input Cobb–Douglas production function with isoquants. In economics and econometrics, the Cobb–Douglas production function is a particular functional form of the production function, widely used to represent the technological relationship between the amounts of two or more inputs (particularly physical capital and labor) and ...
But unlike the classical school and many economists today, Marx made a clear distinction between labor actually done and an individual's "labor power" or ability to work. Labor done is often referred to nowadays as "effort" or "labor services". Labor-power might be seen as a stock which can produce a flow of labor.
Marx also introduces the labour theory of value, where labour power is a commodity within capitalism. This labour power produces value greater than what the workers exchange with the capitalist for wages. This is the source of relative pauperisation of the proletariat, and wages harm the growth of productive capital. [9]
If a production function is homogeneous of degree one, it is sometimes called "linearly homogeneous". A linearly homogeneous production function with inputs capital and labour has the properties that the marginal and average physical products of both capital and labour can be expressed as functions of the capital-labour ratio alone.
The average product of labor (APL) is the total product of labor divided by the number of units of labor employed, or Q/L. [2] The average product of labor is a common measure of labor productivity. [4] [5] The AP L curve is shaped like an inverted “u”. At low production levels the AP L tends to increase as additional labor is added.
This is because in contrast to the constant capital expended on means of production, variable capital can add value in the labor process. The amount it adds depends on the duration, intensity, productivity and skill of the labor-power purchased: in this sense, the buyer of labor-power has purchased a commodity of variable use.
In managerial economics, isoquants are typically drawn along with isocost curves in capital-labor graphs, showing the technological tradeoff between capital and labor in the production function, and the decreasing marginal returns of both inputs. In managerial economics, the unit of isoquant is commonly the net of capital cost.
The greatest improvement in the productive powers of labor, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgement with which it is anywhere directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labor. There is a complex relationship between the division of labor and human capital.