In 1928, Charles Cobb and Paul Douglas published a study in which they modeled the growth of the US economy during the period 1899 to 1922. The function used to model production was of the form: (1) P(L, K) = bLª K!-a where P is total production (monetary value of goods produced in the year); L, the amount of work (total number of person-hours worked in a year); and K, the amount of capital invested (monetary value of machinery, equipment and buildings). In these terms, the hypotheses made by Cobb and Douglas can be stated as follows: (i) If either labor or capital cancel each other out, so does production. (ii) The marginal productivity of labor is proportional to the amount of output per unit of work. (iii) The marginal productivity of capital is proportional to the amount of production per unit of capital. 1. The output per unit of work is

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Chapter15: Measuring A Nation's Income
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In 1928, Charles Cobb and Paul Douglas published a study in which they modeled the growth
of the US economy during the period 1899 to 1922. The function used to model production
was of the form:
(1) P(L, K) = 6LªK!-a
where P is total production (monetary value of goods produced in the year); L, the amount of
work (total number of person-hours worked in a year); and K, the amount of capital invested
(monetary value of machinery, equipment and buildings).
In these terms, the hypotheses made by Cobb and Douglas can be stated as follows:
(i) If either labor or capital cancel each other out, so does production.
(ii) The marginal productivity of labor is proportional to the amount of output per unit of work.
(iii) The marginal productivity of capital is proportional to the amount of production per unit of
сapital.
1. The output per unit of work is
(a) Tick the alternative that, for some constant a, describes the hypothesis (ii)
= aP·L.
= a.
P
()
aL L
P
= a.
(b) If we keep K constant, K = K0, then the partial differential equation noted in part (a) becomes the
ordinary differential equation:
dP
P
= a-.
TP
Show that:
In P(L, Ko) = a In L + C(Ko), C(K0) is a constant that can depend on KO.
(c) Conclude that
P(L, Ko) = C:(Ko)L“,
as in the previous item, constant C1 may depend on the value of KO.
Transcribed Image Text:In 1928, Charles Cobb and Paul Douglas published a study in which they modeled the growth of the US economy during the period 1899 to 1922. The function used to model production was of the form: (1) P(L, K) = 6LªK!-a where P is total production (monetary value of goods produced in the year); L, the amount of work (total number of person-hours worked in a year); and K, the amount of capital invested (monetary value of machinery, equipment and buildings). In these terms, the hypotheses made by Cobb and Douglas can be stated as follows: (i) If either labor or capital cancel each other out, so does production. (ii) The marginal productivity of labor is proportional to the amount of output per unit of work. (iii) The marginal productivity of capital is proportional to the amount of production per unit of сapital. 1. The output per unit of work is (a) Tick the alternative that, for some constant a, describes the hypothesis (ii) = aP·L. = a. P () aL L P = a. (b) If we keep K constant, K = K0, then the partial differential equation noted in part (a) becomes the ordinary differential equation: dP P = a-. TP Show that: In P(L, Ko) = a In L + C(Ko), C(K0) is a constant that can depend on KO. (c) Conclude that P(L, Ko) = C:(Ko)L“, as in the previous item, constant C1 may depend on the value of KO.
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