Capital is held constant. The marginal products of the first four units of labour are 4, 7, 9 and 6 units of output. What is the total product of 4 units of labour?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → 26 units
Given:
MP of units 1 to 4 = 4, 7, 9, 6
Total product is the sum of the marginal products.
\( TP = 4 + 7 + 9 + 6 = 26 \) units
Option (1) 6.5 units — this is the AP (26 / 4).
Option (4) 6 units — this is only the MP of the 4th unit.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.3.3 Marginal Product … Since inputs cannot take negative values, marginal product is undefined at zero level of input employment. For any level of an input, the sum of marginal products of every preceeding unit of that input gives the total product. So total product is the sum of marginal products.” |