Sunday, 19 January 2014

Unit 2 : Factors of Production

Factors of production

Definition : They are the economic resources of capital, enterprise, labour and land

TYPES OF FACTORS OF PRODUCTION

Land
·         Covers any natural resource which is used in production
·         Includes what is beneath the land, what grows naturally on land, what is found in them.
·         The supply of land : The amount of physical land in existence does not change in time, therefore
·         The mobility of land : Occupationally mobile, Geographically immobile.


Capital
·         Any human-made goods used to produce other goods and services
·         Example: Offices, factories, machinery
·         Capital is also known as capital goods and producer goods
·         They are not wanted for their own sake but for what they can produce
Consumer goods are wanted for the satisfaction they provide to their owners
·         Supply of capital:
o   Increases with time. Every year some capital goods physical wear out and some become outdates.
o   The total value of the output of capital produced is referred to as gross investment.
o   Some of the capital goods produced will be replacing those which have worn out or become obsolete.
o   The value of replacement capital is called depreciation or capital consumption
o   Net investment is the value of the extra capital goods made
o   Net investment = Gross Investment – Depreciation
·         Mobility of capital:
o   It varies according to the type of capital good.
o   Example: A photocopier is geographically mobile. A coal mine is geographically immobile as well as occupationally immobile. An office block is occupationally mobile.


Labour
·         Labour covers all human efforts – both mental and physical, involved in producing a good.
·         Supply of labour: it is influenced by 2 factors:
o  Number of workers available (which is influenced by:)
§  Size of the population
§  Age structure of the population
§  Retirement age
§  School leaving age
§  Attitude towards working women
o   The number of hours for which they work (which is influenced by:)
§  Length of an average working day
§  Full time/ Part time
§  Duration of over-time
§  Length of holidays taken
§  Length of sick leaves/ time lost through sickness & illness
·         Those people who are working or are seeking work from the labour force(work force)
·         Productivity : output per worker hour
·         The mobility of labour: Varies from person to person. The causes for geographical immobility of labour:
o   Differences in the price and availability of housing in different areas and countries
o   Family ties
o   Differences in educational systems in different areas and countries
o   Lack of information
o   Restrictions on movement of workers (visa)
·         The main cause for occupational immobility: lack of appropriate skills and qualification.


Enterprise
·         It is the willingness and ability to bear uncertain risks and to make decisions in a business
·         The supply of entrepreneurs is influenced by:
o   A good education system (university degree courses in economics and BST)
o   Lower taxes on firm’s profits (corporate tax)
o   Reduction in government regulations.
·         The mobility of enterprise : It is the most mobile factor of production – both occupationally and geographically mobile


PAYMENTS TO FACTORS OF PRODUCTION

Land – Rent
Capital – Interest
Labour – Wages
Entrepreneur – Profit

8 comments:

  1. wow..this is so full information :)
    thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  2. this was great!
    will definitely use again it was v useful
    thank you

    ReplyDelete
  3. What makes Enterprise occupationally mobile

    ReplyDelete