Law of Variable Proportion from MB0042 SMU MBA Assignment

“Explain the Law of Variable Proportion.” The question has been solved for MB0042 (Managerial Economics) SMU MBA assignment. I have already submitted the solved assignments for MB0042 - Elasticity of Demand, Price Discrimination and Marginal Efficiency of Capital.

Law of Variable Proportion:

Total Product (TP) – Total quality of output produced by a firm.

Average Product (AP) – The total produced by a firm divided by the quantity of variable factors used to produce.

AP = TP/Q

AP – Average Product

TP – Total Product

Q – Number of Variable Factors

Marginal Product (MP) – Change in TP caused as a result of additional unit of Variable factor employed to the combination of Fixed Factor.

Law of variable proportion is also called Law of Diminishing Returns. It examines the production function when one factor varies keeping the quantities of other fixed factors constant. That is how the output varies when Variable Factors are employed to the fixed factors.

The law states, when Variable factors are increased in equal doses keeping the Fixed Factor constant, the total product will increase. But after a certain point it will increase at a diminishing rate and finally the total product starts decreasing.

Assumption:

This law is subject to certain assumptions:

1. The state of technology is given

2. Only one factor of production must be variable. In the example illustrated below, we have taken it as labour

3. There are some inputs, which are kept constant of fixed



In the above table, first column shows fixed factor as the land, say 5 acres. Second column shows labour as variable factor. Third column shows Total Product which changes due to change in the variable factor. Fourth column shows AP which is derived by dividing TP with Q. Fifth column, is MP which is derived by change in TP with change in Q. In the above table, at the fourth unit of variable factor, the total product reaches maximum and then starts has reached its maximum at third unit of variable factor. Marginal product starts falling first, average product follows it and total product falls last.

Marginal Efficiency of Capital and Factors of MEC for MB0042 Managerial Economics MBA Assignment

It is the solved assignment of – “What is Marginal efficiency of Capital? Describe the factors determine MEC.” The question has been submitted for MB0042 (Managerial Economics) SMU MBA assignment. There are already Elasticity of Demand and Price Discrimination from MB0042.

Managerial Efficiency of Capital (MEC) – any investment decision depends not only on rate of interest but also whether or not the expected rate of returns on the investment is greater than cost of borrowing the funds,. In these two factors, the MEC is an important factor because MEC is the expected rate of returns from the investment. If the returns expected are low, then the investment is not profitable because in short run, rate of interest is stable.

In MEC, capital means the real productive assets. MEC depends on expected rate of returns of a capital asset over its life time which is also called Prospective Yield and the supply price of capital assets. Any business man will weigh the prospective yield with the supply price before investing.

Factors Affecting MEC:

Expected demand for future – if the demand is expected to increase, the decrease in future, the prospective yield will be low and so the MEC. So the change in expectation gives sudden ups and downs in investment decisions.

Level of income – when people experience gains through reduction in tax or gains in bullish market, the businessmen become more optimistic as they know when income increases, the demand will increase and so the MEC is high and it is the other way when there are huge losses.

When consumption changes – In real life, whenever there is a shift in consumption Function, the MEC also changes.

Business expectation – Investment is something which gives returns only in the future. Any decision on investment depends on the return which the businessmen expect in future. If the environment is optimistic that leads to more expectations in future.

MEC and Business Expectation:

MEC depends on the businessmen’s expectations, which increases due to invention and goes down due to any threat to the returns on investment. It is also affected by the annual spirit of the entrepreneur. That is why investments are not always calculations but also irrational optimism. Business expectations are based on existing events and partly future facts.