MP

5 2 1 0 0 0

TABLE 7.11 Short Run Production Function for

Typing

In the short run, the only variable factor is labor so the only way the firm can produce more output is by hiring

additional workers. What could the second worker do? What can they contribute to the firm? Perhaps they can

answer the phone, which is a major impediment to completing the typing assignment. What about a third

worker? Perhaps the third worker could bring coffee to the first two workers. You can see both total product

and marginal product for the firm above. Now here’s something to think about: At what point (e.g., after how

many workers) does diminishing marginal productivity kick in, and more importantly, why?

In this example, marginal productivity starts to decline after the second worker. This is because capital is fixed.

The production process for typing works best with one worker and one PC. If you add more than one typist, you

get seriously diminishing marginal productivity.
{"upload_timestamp": "2026-02-07T15:37:44.339247", "batch_upload": true, "uploaded_via": "batch_uploader", "moddate": "2022-12-07T14:23:05-06:00", "file_size_mb": 26.99, "creationdate": "2022-12-07T14:15:44-06:00", "file_name": "Microeconomics3e.pdf", "source": "downloads\\business\\economics\\Microeconomics3e.pdf", "file_hash": "830b81f41611ac67a490444dbb5d6aed292224606965b06965b914443c93331a", "file_type": ".pdf", "source_file": "downloads\\business\\economics\\Microeconomics3e.pdf", "producer": "Prince 14.2 (www.princexml.com)", "total_pages": 597, "creator": "PDFMiner", "title": "Principles of Microeconomics 3e"}