Question

Explain the relationship between the marginal products and the total product of an input.

Explain the relation between marginal product and total product with the help of a diagram.

Answer 1

The relationship between marginal products (MP) and the total product (TP) can be represented graphically as:

• TP increases at an increasing rate till point K, when more and more units of labour are employed. The point K is known as the point of inflexion. At this point MP (second part of the figure) attains its maximum value at point U.
• After point K, TP increases but at a decreasing rate. Simultaneously, MP starts falling after reaching its maximum level at point U.
• When TP curve reaches its maximum and becomes constant at point B, MP becomes zero.
• When TP starts falling after B, MP becomes negative.
• MP is derived from TP by
  `"MP ="(Delta"TP")/(DeltaL)`
  Or, MP = TP_n − TP_n−1