📚 Learning Guide
Marginal Product and Labor Costs
hard

How does the labor supply curve interact with wage determination and marginal product in the context of production efficiency?

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Choose the Best Answer

A

A higher marginal product leads to a lower wage in a perfectly competitive market.

B

An increase in the labor supply curve results in a decrease in the marginal product of labor.

C

Wages are determined solely by the demand for labor, ignoring marginal product.

D

A decrease in the marginal product of labor leads to an increase in wages when the labor supply is inelastic.

Understanding the Answer

Let's break down why this is correct

Answer

The labor supply curve shows how many workers are willing to work at different wage levels. When wages are high, more people want to work, which increases the supply of labor. The marginal product of labor refers to the additional output produced when one more worker is hired. If a company can produce more goods efficiently with an extra worker, they may be willing to pay higher wages to attract that worker. For example, if a bakery finds that hiring one more baker increases their daily bread production significantly, they might raise wages to get the best talent, ensuring they remain efficient and profitable.

Detailed Explanation

When more workers are available, the extra output each worker can produce often decreases. Other options are incorrect because This option suggests that higher productivity means lower pay, which is not true; This answer ignores how productivity affects wages.

Key Concepts

wage determination
production efficiency
labor supply curve
Topic

Marginal Product and Labor Costs

Difficulty

hard level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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