Transcript Markets for Factors of Production

Ch. 17: Demand and Supply in Factor Markets
The firm’s choice of the quantities of labor and
capital to employ.
People’s choices of the quantities of labor and
capital to supply.
Explain how wages and interest rates are
determined in competitive resource markets
Factor Prices and Incomes
Factors of production
– resources used to produce goods and
services.
– The 4 factors of production
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Labor
Capital
Land
Entrepreneurship
Factor Prices and Incomes
• Factor prices determine incomes:
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Labor earns wages.
Capital earns interest.
Land earns rent.
Entrepreneurship earns normal profit.
Economic profit/loss to to owner of the firm.
Factor Prices and Incomes
Income earned by the
owner of a factor of
production equals the
equilibrium price
multiplied by the
equilibrium quantity.
Factor Prices and Incomes
• Effect of increases in factor demand:
– Factor price rises
– Income rises
• Increase in price/quantity depends on elasticity of supply
• Effect of increases in factor supply:
– Factor price falls
– Income could rise or fall depending on demand
elasticity
Suppose that the demand for carpenters
decreases. If the supply of carpenters is more
inelastic, the wage rate for carpenters will fall
(more, less) and the equilibrium employment of
carpenters will fall (more, less).
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Suppose that the supply of carpenters decreases.
If the demand for carpenters is inelastic, the
percentage increase in the wage rate will be
(greater, less) than the percentage decrease in
employment and the total income of carpenters will
(rise, fall).
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Labor Markets
• Allocate labor and the price of labor is the real wage rate
(the wage rate adjusted for the price level).
• In 2002, labor earned 72 percent of total income in the
United States.
Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank
Wages by Occupation (May 2007)
All
Management
Legal
Computer and mathematical
Architecture and engineering
Healthcare practitioners and technical
Education, training, and library
Construction and extraction
Installation, maintenance, and repair
Protective service
Sales and related
Office and administrative support
Transportation and material moving
Healthcare support
Personal care and service
Building, grounds cleaning, &maintenance
Food preparation and serving related
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Hourly wage
Annual Earnings
$18.84
$44.20
$41.04
$33.29
$31.82
$29.82
$21.79
$18.89
$18.78
$17.81
$16.52
$14.60
$14.16
$11.83
$11.02
$10.86
$8.86
$39,190
$91,930
$85,360
$69,240
$66,190
$62,030
$45,320
$39,290
$39,060
$37,040
$34,350
$30,370
$29,460
$24,610
$22,920
$22,580
$18,430
Source: Forbes Magazine, 2008. Most Lucrative College Majors
Source: Forbes Magazine, 2008. Most Lucrative College Majors
The Demand for Labor
• A firm’s demand for labor is a derived demand
– derived from the demand for the goods or
services produce by the factor.
• The marginal revenue product of labor (MRPL)
change in total revenue that results from
employing one more unit of labor.
MRPL = MPL  MR
= MPL X P
if perfect competition
Labor Demand Curve
L
(no. of
workers)
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MP
TR if
P=MR=4
MRP if
P=MR=4
Labor Demand Curve
MRP falls as L increases because of law of
diminishing marginal returns.
 Firm should hire more labor if MRPL > W and
stop when MRPL =W
 How many workers should firm hire if
Wage = $8
Wage = $12
Given the information below, if the firm hires 3
workers, what is total product?
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MP
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If P=$2 and W=$10, increasing L from 2 to 3 would
cause profits to
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Decrease $8
Decrease $5
Increase $2
Increase $8
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Decrease $8
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Decrease $5
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Increase $2
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MP
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Increase $8
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If P=$2 and W=$10, how many workers should this
firm hire to maximize profits?
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Labor Demand Curve
– The marginal revenue product curve for labor is the
demand curve for labor.
– “consumer’s surplus” in labor market = increase in
profits from hiring labor.
W*
MRP
L
L*
Labor Demand Curve
• Equivalence of Two Conditions for Profit
Maximization
MRPL = W (profit-maximizing level of
employment)
 MR  MP = W.
 MR = W/MP.
But W/MP = MC
 MR = MC (profit maximizing level of output)
Labor Demand Curve
The demand for labor (MRPL ) rises and the
demand for labor curve shifts if:
 The price of the firm’s output rises (MR rises)
 Worker productivity rises (MP rises)
 The prices of other factors of production
change
• Substitution effects
• Scale effects
 Technology changes (could increase or
decrease demand for labor)
Labor Demand Curve
• Market Demand
– The market demand for labor is obtained by
summing the quantities of labor demanded by
all firms at each wage rate.
– Because each firm’s demand for labor curve
slopes downward, so does the market
demand curve.
Labor Demand Curve
• Elasticity of Demand for Labor
– The labor intensity of the production process
– The elasticity of demand for the product
– The substitutability of capital for labor
• Importance of elasticity of labor demand
– Minimum wage effects
– Power of unions
– Effects of immigration on wages
Suppose you earn $20 per hour and work 40 hours
per week. If your wage increases to $30 per hour,
how would you want to adjust your work hours?
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1. Work more
2. Work less
3. Work same
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Labor Supply
• As wage rate rises,
– Substitution effect
• The opportunity cost of leisure increases with the
wage, people buy less leisure and work more.
– Income effect
• As wage rate rises, person is richer, buys more
leisure, and works less.
– Net effect:
• work more if SE>IE
• work less if SE<IE
Labor Supply
• Backward-bending supply of labor curve
– At low wage rates, SE> IE and QS rises as
wage rises.
– At high wage rates, IE>SE and QS falls as
wage rises.
– The individual labor supply curve slopes
upward at low wage rates but eventually
bends backward at high wage rates.
– The market labor supply curve is obtained
by summing each individual’s supply curve of
labor.
Labor Supply
– The backward bending supply curve for
individuals, and the eventually backward
bending market supply curve.
Labor Supply
• Changes in the supply of labor
– The adult population changes
– Immigration
– Home technology.
– Social insurance (welfare, Social Security,
etc.)
– Taxes
• The Laffer curve
Labor Markets
• Labor Market Equilibrium
Wage
LS
LD
Hours of labor
Effects of Labor Market Shocks
– Increase in demand for autos
– Increased tax rate on employees.
– Reduced cost of capital (or technological
innovations) that can substitute for labor.
– Increased immigration.
• Substitutes for immigrants versus complements.
– More generous welfare or Social Security
programs.
Labor Markets
• Theory of Compensating Differences.
– Equally skilled workers will receive differential
pay if jobs differ in terms of “non-pecuniary
aspects”.
– Example: Suppose all workers are equally
skilled and get a safe job that pays $10 per
hour.
• If some employers have risky jobs, how much must
they pay to attract workers?
• What does labor supply curve look like for risky
jobs?
• Graphic representation of compensating difference.
Labor Markets
– Other examples of compensating difference
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“night shift”
dirty jobs
jobs with high unemployment risk
jobs that require higher level of education
– Other labor market applicatons.
• Why did the education premium grow?
• Would a higher minimum wage reduce poverty?
Capital Markets
• Capital markets
– the channels through which firms obtain financial
resources to buy physical factors of production that
economists call capital.
– available financial resources come from savings.
– real interest rate is the return on capital and is the
“price” determined in the capital market.
– real interest rate equals the nominal interest rate minus
the inflation rate.
The Demand for Capital
• A firm’s demand for financial capital (borrowed
funds) stems from its demand for physical capital.
• The firm employs the quantity of physical capital
that makes the marginal revenue product of
capital equal to the price of the capital.
• The returns to capital come in the future, but
capital must be paid for in the present.
• So the firm must convert the future marginal
revenue product of capital to a present value.
The Demand for Capital
• Discounting and Present Value
– Discounting is converting a future amount of
money into a present value.
– The PV of a future amount of money is the
amount that, if invested today at the interest
rate r will grow to be as large as that future
amount.
The Demand for Capital
• If the interest rate for one period is r, then
the amount of money a person has one
year in the future is:
• FV = PV + (r  PV) = PV  (1 + r)
PV = FV/(1 + r)
FV in T-years = PV*(1+r)T
PV = FV in T-years/ (1+r)T
What is PV of $100 that will be paid in 5
years if the interest rate is 5%? (round to
nearest $)
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The Demand for Capital
• Assuming 5% interest, what is PV of $100 per
year over the next 3 years if first payment is one
year from today?
• As interest rate rises, what happens to PV of
future stream of income?
Net Present Value
• NPV =PV(Income) –PV(Cost)
• If NPV>0, buying the capital is profitable
• Example: Buy a machine today for $5000. It will
generate revenue of $3000 in one year and
another $3000 in two years and has a scrap
value of $500 at the end of the two years.
• What is the NPV if the interest rate is:
–
0%
5%
20%
The Demand for Capital
– Higher interest rate lowers NPV of capital.
– As the interest rate rises, fewer projects have positive
NPV and the quantity of capital demanded decreases.
Interest rate
Demand for capital
Amount of Capital
The Demand for Capital
• Factors shifting the demand for capital
– New technology
– Expectations of future profits from capital
– Taxes
– Depreciation schedules
• Population (capital/labor ratio)
• NOT interest rates (moves along curve)
Supply of Capital
• The quantity of capital supplied results from people’s
savings decisions.
• As interest rates rise, people are encouraged to save
more.
Interest rate
Supply of Capital
(Saving)
Amount of Capital
Supply of Capital
• Changes in supply of capital caused by:
– The size and age distribution of the
population
– Taxes on saving versus consumption.
– Expectations of future income relative to
current income.
– NOT by changes in interest rates.
Capital Markets
• Equilibrium occurs at the interest rate that
makes the quantity of capital demanded
equal the quantity of capital supplied.
Because of the recent stock market collapse,
many households have decided that it’s
necessary to increase their rate of saving.
This should cause an increase in ____ and
____ interest rates.
Capital supply; lower
Capital supply; higher
Capital demand; lower
None of the above.
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Because of pessimistic outlooks for future
consumer demand, many firms have decided
that new capital purchases are not likely to
be profitable at this point. This would cause
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1. Higher capital supply and
lower interest rates
2. Lower capital supply and
higher interest rates
3. Lower capital demand
and higher interest rates
4. Lower capital demand
and lower interest rates.
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