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Concept
Returns to scale
Summary
In economics, the concept of returns to scale arises in the context of a firm's production function. It explains the long-run linkage of increase in output (production) relative to associated increases in the inputs (factors of production).
In the long run, all factors of production are variable and subject to change in response to a given increase in production scale. In other words, returns to scale analysis is a long-term theory because a company can only change the scale of production in the long run by changing factors of production, such as building new facilities, investing in new machinery, or improving technology.
There are three possible types of returns to scale:
If output increases by the same proportional change as all inputs change then there are constant returns to scale (CRS). For example, when inputs (labor and capital) increase by 100%, output increases by 100%.
If output increases by less than the proportional change in all inputs, there are decreasing returns to scale (DRS). For example, when inputs (labor and capital) increase by 100%, the increase in output is less than 100%. The main reason for the decreasing returns to scale is the increased management difficulties associated with the increased scale of production, the lack of coordination in all stages of production, and the resulting decrease in production efficiency.
If output increases by more than the proportional change in all inputs, there are increasing returns to scale (IRS). For example, when inputs (labor and capital) increase by 100%, the increase in output is greater than 100%. The main reason for the increasing returns to scale is the increase in production efficiency due to the expansion of the firm's production scale.
A firm's production function could exhibit different types of returns to scale in different ranges of output. Typically, there could be increasing returns at relatively low output levels, decreasing returns at relatively high output levels, and constant returns at some range of output levels between those extremes.
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Related concepts (5)
Diseconomies of scale
In microeconomics, diseconomies of scale are the cost disadvantages that economic actors accrue due to an increase in organizational size or in output, resulting in production of goods and services at increased per-unit costs. The concept of diseconomies of scale is the opposite of economies of scale. In business, diseconomies of scale are the features that lead to an increase in average costs as a business grows beyond a certain size. Ideally, all employees of a firm would have one-on-one communication with each other so they know exactly what the other workers are doing.
Economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables an increase in scale. At the basis of economies of scale, there may be technical, statistical, organizational or related factors to the degree of market control. This is just a partial description of the concept.
Diminishing returns
In economics, diminishing returns are the decrease in marginal (incremental) output of a production process as the amount of a single factor of production is incrementally increased, holding all other factors of production equal (ceteris paribus). The law of diminishing returns (also known as the law of diminishing marginal productivity) states that in productive processes, increasing a factor of production by one unit, while holding all other production factors constant, will at some point return a lower unit of output per incremental unit of input.