Theory Of

Production

Law Of Variable
Proportion

Economies Scale Of
Production
What is Theory Of Production
?
In the words of Ferguson, “ The theory of production consists of
how the producer, given the state of technology combines
various inputs to produce a definite amount of output in an
economically efficient manner.”
Theory of production also seeks to explain the relationship
between input and output.
Theory of production is mainly
concerned with two things :-
1) Production Function
2) Laws of Production or
Laws of Return
 Production Function
Production function refers to the functional relationship
between the quantity of good produced (output) and the
factors of production (inputs) necessary to produce it.
According to Watson, “The relation between a firm’s physical
production (output) and the material factors of production
(inputs) referred to as production function.”
 Fixed and Variable Factors of
Production
A fixed factor of production is one whose quantity cannot readily be
changed. Examples include major pieces of equipment, suitable factory
space, and key managerial personnel.
A variable factor of production is one whose usage rate can be changed
easily. Examples include electrical power consumption, transportation
services, and most raw material inputs.
 Law of variable proportion
The law of variable proportions states that as the
quantity of one factor is increased, keeping the other
factors fixed, the marginal product of that factor will
eventually decline. This means that up to the use of
a certain amount of variable factor, marginal
product of the factor may increase and after a
certain stage it starts diminishing. When the
variable factor becomes relatively abundant, the
marginal product may become negative.
Assumptions: The law of variable proportions holds
good under the following conditions:
Constant State of Technology: First, the state of technology is
assumed to be given and unchanged. If there is improvement
in the technology, then the marginal product may rise instead
of diminishing.
Fixed Amount of Other Factors: Secondly, there must be some
inputs whose quantity is kept fixed. It is only in this way that
we can alter the factor proportions and know its effects on
output. The law does not apply if all factors are
proportionately varied.
Possibility of Varying the Factor proportions: Thirdly, the law
is based upon the possibility of varying the proportions in
which the various factors can be combined to produce a
product. The law does not apply if the factors must be used in
fixed proportions to yield a product.
 Illustration of the Law: The law of variable proportion is illustrated
in the following table and figure. Suppose there is a given amount
of land in which more and more labour (variable factor) is used to
produce wheat.

Units of labour Total Product Marginal product Average Product

1 2 2 2
2 6 4 3
3 12 6 4
4 16 4 4
5 18 2 3.6
6 18 0 3
7 14 -4 2
 Three Stages of the Law of
Variable Proportions:
These stages are illustrated in the following figure where labour is
measured on the X-axis and output on the Y-axis.

Stage 1. Stage of Increasing Returns: In this stage, total product increases

at an increasing rate up to a point. This is because the efficiency of the
fixed factors increases as additional units of the variable factors are added
to it. In the figure, from the origin to the point F, slope of the total product
curve TP is increasing i.e. the curve TP is concave upwards up to the point
F, which means that the marginal product MP of labour rises. The point F
where the total product stops increasing at an increasing rate and starts
increasing at a diminishing rate is called the point of inflection.
Corresponding vertically to this point of inflection marginal product of
labour is maximum, after which it diminishes. This stage is called the stage
of increasing returns because the average product of the variable factor
increases throughout this stage. This stage ends at the point where the
average product curve reaches its highest point.
Stage 2. Stage of Diminishing Returns: In this stage, total
product continues to increase but at a diminishing rate until it
reaches its maximum point H where the second stage ends. In
this stage both the marginal product and average product of
labour are diminishing but are positive. This is because the
fixed factor becomes inadequate relative to the quantity of
the variable factor. At the end of the second stage, i.e., at
point M marginal product of labour is zero which corresponds
to the maximum point H of the total product curve TP. This
stage is important because the firm will seek to produce in
this range.
Stage 3. Stage of Negative Returns: In stage 3, total product
declines and therefore the TP curve slopes downward. As a
result, marginal product of labour is negative and the MP
curve falls below the X-axis. In this stage the variable factor
(labour) is too much relative to the fixed factor.
 Causes of Applicability
Causes of increasing returns to a factor :

• 1.Fuller utilization of the fixed factor : In the initial Stages fixed factor
remains under utilized. Its fuller utilization cause for greater application
of the variable factor. Hence initially additional units of the variable factor
add more & more to total output .

2. Increased efficiency of the variable factor : Additional application

of the variable factor causes process based division of labour that
raises efficiency of the factor. Accordingly MP of the factor tends to
Rise.

Causes of decreasing return to a factor :

• 1. Fixity of the factor: as more & more units the variable factor
continue to be combined with the fixed factor , the latter gets over
utilized. Hence the diminishing returns.
2. Imperfect factor substitutability: factors of production are
imperfect substitutes of each other. more & more of labour cannot be
continuously used in place of additional capital.
 Applicability of the law of Variable
Proportion
Law of variable proportions applies to all fields of production, like
agriculture, industry, etc. This law applies to any field of production
where some factors are fixed and other are variable. That is the
reason, why it is called law of universal application.
Application to Agriculture
Application to Industry
 Economies of the Scale of
Production
According to Stinger, Economies of scales is synonyms of returns to
scale. When scale of production is increased, up to a point, one gets
economies of scale. Therefore, diseconomies of scale follow.
Increasing returns to scale is the result of these economies.
Marshall has divided economies of scale into two parts :-
Internal Economies
External Economies
 Internal Economies
• Internal economies of scale are those economies which are
internal to the firm. These arise within the firm as a result of
increasing the scale of output of the firm. A firm secures these
economies from the growth of the firm independently.
The main internal economies are grouped under the following
heads:
(I) Technical Economies: When production is carried on a large scale, a firm can
afford to install up to date and costly machinery and can have its own repairing
arrangements. As the cost of machinery will be spread over a very large volume of
output, the cost of production per unit will therefore, be low. A large
establishment can utilize its by products. This will further enable the firm to lower
the price per unit of the main product. A large firm can also secure the services of
experienced entrepreneurs and workers which a small firm cannot afford. In a
large establishment there is much scope for specialization of work, so the division
of labor can be easily secured

(ii) Managerial Economies: When production is carried on a large scale, the

task of manager can be split up into different departments and each department
can be placed under the supervision of a specialist of that branch. The difficult
task can be taken up by the entrepreneur himself. Due to these functional
specialization, the total return can be increased at a lower cost.

(iii) Marketing Economies: Marketing economies refer to those economies

which a firm can secure from the purchase or sale of the commodities. A large
establishment is in a better position to buy the raw material at a cheaper rate
because it can buy that commodities on a large scale. At the time of selling the
produced goods, the firm can secure better rates by effectively advertising in the
newspapers, journals and radio, etc.
• (iv) Financial Economies: Financial economies arise from the
fact that a big establishment can raise loans at a lower rate of
interest than a small establishment which enjoys little
reputation in the capital market.

• (v) Risk Bearing Economies: A big firm can undertake risk

bearing economies by spreading the risk. In certain cases the
risk is eliminated altogether. A big establishment produces a
variety of goods in order to cater the needs of different tastes
of people. If the demand for a certain type of commodities
slackens, it is counter balanced by the increase in demand of
the other type of commodities produced by the firm.

• (vi) Economies of Scale: As a firm grows in size, it is-possible

for it to reduce its cost. The reduction in costs, as a result of
increasing production is called economies of scale. The
economies of scale are obtained by the firm up to the lowest
point on the firms long run average cost curve.
 Diseconomies of Scale:
• Definition:
The extensive use of machinery, division of labor, increased
specialization and larger plant size etc., no doubt entail lower
cost per unit of output but the fall in cost per unit is up to a
certain limit. As the firm goes beyond the optimum size, the
efficiency of the firm begins to decline. The average cost of
production begins to rise.
 Factors of Diseconomies:
(I) Lack of co-ordination. As a firm becomes large scale producer, it faces
difficulty in coordinating the various departments of production. The lack of co-
ordination in the production, planning, marketing personnel, account, etc., lowers
efficiency of the factors of production. The average cost of production begins to
rise.
(ii) Loose control. As the size of plant increases, the management loses control
over the productive activities. The misuse of delegation of authority, the redtapisim
bring diseconomies and lead to higher average cost of production.
(iii) Lack of proper communication. The lack of proper
communication between top management and the supervisory staff
and little feed back from subordinate staff causes diseconomies of
scale and results in the average cost to go up.
(iv) Lack of identification. In a large organizational structure, there is
no close liaison between the top management and the thousands of
workers employed in the firm. The lack of identification of interest
with the firm results in the per unit cost to go up.
 External Economies
• External economies of scale are those economies which are
not specially availed of by .any firm. Rather these accrue to all
the firms in an industry as the industry expands.
• The main external economies are as under:
 (I) Economies of localization. When an industry is concentrated in
a particular area, all the firms situated in that locality avail of some
common economies such as (a) skilled labor, (b) transportation
facilities, (c) post and telegraph facilities, (d) banking and insurance
facilities etc.
(ii) Economies of vertical disintegration. The vertical disintegration
implies the splitting up the production process in such a manner
that some Job are assigned to specialized firms. For example, when
an industry expands, the repair work of the various parts of the
machinery is taken up by the various firms specialists in repairs.
(iii) Economies of information. As the industry expands it can set
up research institutes. The research institutes provide market
information, technical information etc for the benefit of alt the
firms in the industry.
(iv) Economies of by products. All the firms can lower the costs of
production by making use of waste materials.
 External Diseconomies:
Definition:

A firm or an industry cannot avail of economies for

an indefinite period of time. With the expansion and
growth of an industry, certain disadvantage also
begin to arise. The diseconomies of large scale
production are:
(I) Diseconomies of pollution, (ii) Excessive pressure
on transport facilities, (iii) Rise in the prices of the
factors of production, (iv) Scarcity of funds, (v)
Marketing problems of the products, (iv) Increase in
risks.