The role of physical constraints on production

Ratbek Dzhumashev

Ecological Economics, 2024, vol. 216, issue C

Abstract: We consider the physical constraints of the production process by connecting the actual amount (volume) of physical output to its mass. To achieve this, we introduce a function that evaluates the mass of physical objects such as resources and output. Through the mass function, we demonstrate that the marginal product of resource inputs is less than the ratio of the mass density of resource inputs to that of the final products. This ratio's boundedness implies that the marginal resource product has an upper limit, meaning that the Inada condition for resources is not valid. This restriction on the marginal product of resource input has significant implications for long-term growth and environmental sustainability. It indicates that the growth of total physical output is only feasible with more resource input and a potentially higher level of pollution.

Keywords: Inada conditions; Conservation of mass; Production function; Natural resources (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D24 E23 O44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800923002835
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:216:y:2024:i:c:s0921800923002835

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.108020

Access Statistics for this article

Ecological Economics is currently edited by C. J. Cleveland

More articles in Ecological Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().