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how do you tell if a production function has increasing returns to scale

by Olga Littel II Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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The Cobb Douglas production function {Q (L, K)=A (L^b)K^a} , exhibits the three types of returns:

  • If a+b>1, there are increasing returns to scale.
  • For a+b=1, we get constant returns to scale.
  • If a+b<1, we get decreasing returns to scale.

If output increases by less than the proportional change in all inputs, there are decreasing returns to scale (DRS). If output increases by more than the proportional change in all inputs, there are increasing returns to scale (IRS).

Full Answer

How do you know if a production function has increasing returns?

If, when we multiply the amount of every input by the number , the factor by which output increases is more than , then the production function has increasing returns to scale (IRTS). More precisely, a production function F has increasing returns to scale if, for any > 1,

How do you find the returns to scale of a production function?

If, when we multiply the amount of every input by the number , the resulting output is multiplied by , then the production function has constant returns to scale (CRTS). More precisely, a production function F has constant returns to scale if, for any > 1, F (z 1, z 2) = F (z 1, z 2) for all (z 1, z 2).

How do you know if a function has decreasing returns to scale?

If, when we multiply the amount of every input by the number , the factor by which output increases is less than , then the production function has decreasing returns to scale (DRTS). More precisely, a production function F has decreasing returns to scale if, for any > 1,

How do you find increasing returns to scale?

For increasing returns to scale, we are looking for an output that increases by a larger proportion than the increase in inputs. If the increase in output is the same or less than the inputs, then we do not have increasing returns to scale. The constant can be a number you decide to use as a test or a variable — it is your decision!

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How do you determine if a production function has increasing returns to scale?

The easiest way to find out if a production function has increasing, decreasing, or constant returns to scale is to multiply each input in the function with a positive constant, (t > 0), and then see if the whole production function is multiplied with a number that is higher, lower, or equal to that constant.

How do you determine increasing or decreasing returns to scale?

Return to scale is calculated by multiplying each input function by a multiplier. If the result is greater than the multiplier, it increases returns to scale. If the result is less than the multiplier, then the production function will result in decreasing return to scale.

What are the factors causing increasing returns to scale?

The causes of increasing returns to scale are: Division of labor and increased efficiency of variable factors. Organized and efficient coordination between the factors. Indivisibility of factors of production.

Which situation describes the increasing returns stage of the production function?

Answer and Explanation: The correct option is a. Hiring one more tailor results in three more suits produced per hour. In the increasing returns stage of the production function, increasing input results in a higher proportionate increase in output.

What types of firms have increasing returns to scale?

Industries that exhibit increasing returns to scale typically have small number of large firms. Because there are advantages to production at high level, large companies are at considerable advantage as compared to small firms. Airplane producers, large express shipping companies, telecommunication companies, etc.

Can a firm have a production function that exhibits increasing returns to scale?

Most firms have production functions that exhibit increasing, constant, and decreasing returns to scale. At low levels of output, proportional increases in all inputs may lead to larger-than-proportional increases in output due to increased opportunities for specialized factors of production.

What is a factor that does not cause an increasing return to scale?

Increasing returns to scale is possible only with technological advancement, specialisation of labour and marketing economies with fixed factor proportions.

Which of the following is not a reason for increasing returns to scale?

Limitation of fixed factor is not a reason for operation of increasing returns to a factor.

What is the meaning of increasing returns?

Increasing returns are the tendency for that which is ahead to get further ahead and for that which is losing advantage to lose further advantage. If a product gets ahead, increasing returns can magnify the advantage, and the product can go on to lock in the market.

Which of the following production situation describes the decreasing returns to scale?

Decreasing returns to scale occur if the production process becomes less efficient as production is expanded, as when a firm becomes too large to be managed effectively as a single unit.

What types of returns to scale does each production function exhibit?

There are three possible types of returns to scale: increasing returns to scale, constant returns to scale, and diminishing (or decreasing) returns to scale. If output increases by the same proportional change as all inputs change then there are constant returns to scale (CRS).

What is the meaning of returns to scale?

Returns to scale refers to the rate by which output changes if all inputs are changed by the same factor. Constant returns to scale: a k-fold change in all inputs leads to a k-fold change in output.

What is decreasing returns to scale?

Decreasing returns to scale occur if the production process becomes less efficient as production is expanded, as when a firm becomes too large to be managed effectively as a single unit.

How do you determine the nature of returns to scale?

If output increases by the same proportional change as all inputs change then there are constant returns to scale (CRS). If output increases by less than the proportional change in all inputs, there are decreasing returns to scale (DRS).

Is increasing returns to scale the same as economies of scale?

Economies of scale refers to the feature of many production processes in which the per-unit cost of producing a product falls as the scale of production rises. Increasing returns to scale refers to the feature of many production processes in which productivity per unit of labor rises as the scale of production rises.

What is increasing returns in economics?

Increasing returns are the tendency for that which is ahead to get further ahead and for that which is losing advantage to lose further advantage. If a product gets ahead, increasing returns can magnify the advantage, and the product can go on to lock in the market.

What are the three types of return to scale?

Of course, the return to scale can be of three types- increasing, decreasing and constant.

What is the production function of an economy?

Interestingly, the production function of an economy as a whole exhibits close characteristics of constant returns to scale. Also, studies suggest that an individual firm passes through a long phase of constant return to scale in its lifetime. Lastly, it is also known as the linear homogeneous production function.

How to find the Cobb Douglas function?

The Cobb Douglas production function {Q (L, K)=A (L^b)K^a} , exhibits the three types of returns: 1 If a+b&gt;1, there are increasing returns to scale. 2 For a+b=1, we get constant returns to scale. 3 If a+b&lt;1, we get decreasing returns to scale.

What is the relative change in production?

For constant returns to scale to occur, the relative change in production should be equal to the proportionate change in the factors. For example, if all the factors are proportionately doubled, then constant returns would imply that the production output would also double.

What happens when a firm expands to a very large size?

When the firm expands to a very large size, it becomes difficult to manage it with the same efficiency as before. Hence, the increasing complexity in management, coordination, and control eventually leads to decreasing returns.

Why are some factors available in large units?

Some factors are available in large units, such that they are completely suitable for large-scale production. Evidently, if all the factors are perfectly divisible then there might be no increasing returns. Further, specialization of land and machinery can be another reason.

Is the study of production a long run or short run?

It is important to realize that the study of production completely differs according to the time frame. Recollect that we take the help of the law of diminishing returns to study production in the short run, whereas in the long run, the returns to scale are at the helm. Again, the long run is a long enough period in which we can alter both fixed ...

What does decreasing marginal returns to a factor mean?

Decreasing marginal returns to a factor means that keeping the other factors fixed, the marginal output generated by this factor is decreasing. When looking at returns to scale, we change all outputs. Increasing a factor with decreasing marginal returns can have an indirect effect in increasing the marginal productivity of other factors. If we increase all factors at the same time, the indirect effects may outweigh the direct effect. The production function F: R + 2 given by#N#F ( x, y) = ( x + 1) 2 / 3 ( y + 1) 2 / 3#N#has decreasing marginal factor productivities everywhere but not decreasing returns to scale (it doesn't have increasing returns to scale either).

When the sum of the alphas is higher than unity, output increases more than k?

If the sum of the alphas is higher than unity, output increases more than k so we have increasing returns to scale , and correspondingly for deceasing returns to scale when the sum of the alphas is smaller than unity.

What happens when the sum of the alphas is higher than unity?

If the sum of the alphas is higher than unity, output increases more than $k$ so we have increasing returns to scale, and correspondingly for deceasing returns to scale when the sum of the alphas is smaller than unity.

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Do decreasing marginal returns require second partial derivatives to be negative?

For decreasing marginal returns we require second partial derivatives to be negative, since we examine what happens if we vary only one input

What is production function?

A production function is a function that summarizes the conversion of inputs in to outputs. For example, the production of cars using steel, labor, machinery, and plant facilities could be described as . Production functions can be applied to a single firm, an industry, or an entire nation. Note, however, that they are limited ...

What test to use for increasing returns?

If you want to perform a specific test for either increasing or decreasing returns to scale, then you need to use a one-sided t test. In the case of increasing returns, you test the following hypothesis and alternative:

How to test a hypothesis in SAS?

You can test this hypothesis using SAS by first creating the log variables, then using PROC REG to conduct an F test. Traditionally, you need to create both a full and a reduced model where the full model regresses . The reduced model restates the hypothesis as and substitutes the new value for into the full model. Solving for the reduced model, you get the following:

What does it mean when the value of a F test is less than the chosen significance level?

In the F test results, you find a -value of . If the -value is less than the chosen significance level, then you reject the hypothesis in favor of the alternative . If the -value is greater than the chosen significance level, then there is insufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis. If you assume a significance level of 0.05 for this example, then , and you fail to reject the hypothesis. You find that the model demonstrates constant returns to scale.

What happens to output when both capital and labor are increased?

Formally, for constant returns to scale, . That is, if both of the inputs, capital and labor, are increased by a factor of , then output also increases by a factor of . For increasing returns, if both capital and labor are increased by a factor of , then output increases by an amount greater than . In this case, . The opposite is true for decreasing returns. If both capital and labor are increased by a factor of , then output increases by an amount less than such that .

Can you perform a linear regression as a reduced model?

Thus, you perform the simple linear regression as the reduced model using the MODEL statement.

How to conclude a C-D function?

So, when you have a C-D production function you can conclude about its productivity by summing its inputs elasticities.

What is constant if a1+?

constant if a1+ … + an = 1 increasing if a1+ … + an > 1 decreasing if a1+ … + an < 1.

How does increasing returns to scale occur?

Increasing returns to scale occurs when a firm increases its inputs, and a more-than-proportionate increase in production results. For example, in year one a firm employs 200 workers, uses 50 machines, and produces 1,000 products. In year two it employs 400 workers, uses 100 machines (inputs doubled), and produces 2,500 products (output more than doubled).

What is decreasing returns to scale?

Decreasing returns to scale happens when the firm’s output rises proportionately less than its inputs rise. For example, in year one, a firm employs 200 workers, uses 50 machines, and produces 1,000 products. In year two it employs 400 workers, uses 100 machines (inputs doubled), and produces 1,500 products (output less than doubled).

When does constant return to scale occur?

Constant returns to scale occurs when the firm’s output rises proportionate to the increase in inputs.

What happens when input prices remain constant?

When input prices remain constant, increasing returns to scale results in decreasing long-run average costs (economies of scale). A firm that gets bigger experiences lower costs because of increased specialization, more efficient use of large pieces of machinery (for example, use of assembly lines), volume discounts, and other advantages of producing in large quantities.

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1.Increasing, Decreasing, and Constant Returns to Scale

Url:https://www.thoughtco.com/increasing-decreasing-constant-returns-to-scale-1146328

20 hours ago The formula for finding increasing returns to scale is plugging the values for inputs to calculate a corresponding increase in output using a function such as this one: Q = L + K. Let's look at the …

2.Videos of How Do You Tell If A Production Function Has Increasin…

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19 hours ago The Cobb Douglas production function {Q(L, K)=A(L^b)K^a}, exhibits the three types of returns: If a+b>1, there are increasing returns to scale. For a+b=1, we get constant returns to scale. If …

3.Returns to Scale: Meaning, Cobb Douglas Production …

Url:https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-economics/theory-of-production-and-cost/returns-to-scale/

13 hours ago  · If the sum of the alphas is higher than unity, output increases more than k so we have increasing returns to scale, and correspondingly for deceasing returns to scale when the …

4.Example production function with increasing returns to …

Url:https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/18426/example-production-function-with-increasing-returns-to-scale-but-diminishing-mar

9 hours ago If, when we multiply the amount of every input by the number , the factor by which output increases is more than , then the production function has increasing returns to scale (IRTS).

5.Testing for Returns to Scale in a Cobb-Douglas …

Url:https://support.sas.com/rnd/app/ets/examples/cobbdoug/index.html

34 hours ago As with the F test, you compare the -values with your chosen level of significance. Assuming a significance level of 0.05, you compare the -value for increasing returns to scale. If the -value …

6.How do you determine if the production function has …

Url:https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/15017/how-do-you-determine-if-the-production-function-has-decreasing-returns-to-scale

15 hours ago The Cobb-Douglas technology’s returns-to-scale is. constant if a1+ … + an = 1 increasing if a1+ … + an > 1 decreasing if a1+ … + an < 1. In your case, a1+a2=1.4+0.5=1.9, which is greater than 1. …

7.Section 7: Increasing, Decreasing, and Constant Returns …

Url:https://inflateyourmind.com/microeconomics/unit-5-microeconomics/section-7-increasing-decreasing-and-constant-returns-to-scale/

19 hours ago Increasing Returns to Scale Increasing returns to scale is closely associated with economies of scale (the downward sloping part of the long-run average total cost curve in the previous …

8.Returns to scale - University of Toronto

Url:https://www.economics.utoronto.ca/osborne/2x3/tutorial/RTS.HTM

35 hours ago If, when we multiply the amount of every input by the number , the factor by which output increases is more than , then the production function has increasing returns to scale (IRTS). …

9.Production Functions: Determining Returns to Scale

Url:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7zy8MECEgo

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