6.2 : 生产函数

Production is the process of transforming inputs to create goods and services, known as outputs.

Consider Firm A, which produces cars.

Its output is the number of cars it produces in a year.

It uses many resources, such as the skilled labor of automotive engineers, unskilled labor of security staff, manufacturing equipment like conveyor belts, factories, and raw materials such as steel. For analysis, it is assumed only two resources, capital and labor, are used. These are called inputs.

A production function is a mathematical representation of the relationship between inputs and the maximum output that can be produced with those inputs, given the current state of technology. For Firm A, the quantity of cars produced is a function of the labor and capital used in production.

The production function is represented as Q, which is equal to a function of the quantity of capital employed, denoted as K, and the quantity of labor used, denoted as L. Here, Q gives the quantity of output.

The production function determines the output that can be produced using the available inputs or the inputs required to achieve a specific output level.