Question

The production function for fish harvesting is Cobb-Douglas. Currently, the Marginal Rate of Technical Substitution (MRTS) between Labor (L) and Capital (K) is higher than the wage to rent ratio (MRTS > w/r). This means that, a. More labor and less capital should be used to lower costs b. More capital and less labor should be used to lower costs c. Labor and Capital being used are already minimizing costs d. We need to know the fixed costs of production to determine if costs are minimized or not

Answer 1

a. More labor and less capital should be used to reduce cost.

Step-by-step explanation:

Condition for profit maximization is where the Marginal rate of technical substitution = Ratio of factor-input prices. This condition is known as a Producer Optimum in Long Run. MRTS itself is the ratio of Marginal Productivity of Labor to Capital. Thus, MRTS > w/r implies that Relative marginal productivity of labor is greater than relative cost of labor. This means that labor comes cheaper than capital when both their productivities are compared. So it is profitable to employ more labor than capital. This will continue till wages increase up to the point where MRTS = w/r.