Economists classify production functions as possessing constant, decreasing or i

Question

Economists classify production functions as possessing constant, decreasing or increasing returns to scale. Yet, from a cause-and-effect point of view, it is not readily apparent why decreasing returns to scale should ever exist. That is, if we duplicate an activity we ought to get duplicate results. Hence, if we truly duplicate all of the inputs, we ought to get double the output. Can you reconcile the apparent contradiction between this logic and the expectation of the economist that beyond certain output ranges ?rms will confront decreasing returns to scale?

Explanation / Answer

Decreasing returns to scale results if long-run production changes are less than the proportional changes in all inputs used by a firm. Suppose, for example, that The Wacky Willy Company employs 1,000 workers in a 5,000 square foot factory to produce 1 million Stuffed Amigos (those cute and cuddly armadillos, tarantulas, and scorpions) each month. Decreasing returns to scale exists if the scale of operation expands to 2,000 workers in a 10,000 square foot factory (a doubling of the inputs) and production increases by less than 2 million Stuffed Amigos. The anticipated pattern for most production activities is that increasing returns to scale emerge for relatively small levels of production, which is then followed by constant returns to scale and decreasing returns to scale. Decreasing returns to scale are the flip slide of diseconomies of scale. Whereas diseconomies of scale focus on changes in average cost, decreasing returns to scale focus on production. Diseconomies of scale indicate that long-run average cost increases, which corresponds to decreasing returns to scale in terms of output. Do not confuse decreasing returns to scale with decreasing marginal returns. While these phrases sound similar, they are quite different. Decreasing returns to scale relate to the long run in which all inputs are variable. Decreasing marginal returns related to the short run in which one or more input is variable and one or more input is fixed. The existence of fixed inputs in the short run gives rise to decreasing marginal returns. In particular, decreasing marginal returns result because the capacity of the fixed input or inputs is being reached. However, in the long run, there are no fixed inputs.

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