Question

A manager hires labor and rents capital equipment in a very competitive market. Currently the wage rate is $9 per hour and capital is rented at $10 per hour. If the marginal product of labor is 45 units of output per hour and the marginal product of capital is 60 units of output per hour, should the firm increase, decrease, or leave unchanged the amount of capital used in its production process

Answer 1

Answer: Capital should be increased in the production process.

Step-by-step explanation:

We should note that based on rule of cost minimization, the quantity of capital and labor that's employee by a firm should be one where the MRTS i.e marginal rate of technical substitution between the capital and labor is equal to the wage rental ratio. Therefore,

MRTS = w/r

MPl/MPk = w/r

MPl/w = MPk/r

45/9 < 60/10

5 < 6

Since the ratio isn't equal, it simply means that the firm isn't using optimum mix of inputs. Based on the above, capital should be increased.