In the context of a production function, what is the marginal product of labor?

• A. The total output produced by all units of labor and capital combined
• B. The additional output produced when all inputs are increased by the same proportion
• C. The additional output produced when one more unit of labor is employed, holding other inputs constant
• D. The amount of labor required to produce one unit of output, holding technology constant

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the marginal product of labor (MPL) measures the change in total output resulting from employing one additional unit of labor, while keeping other inputs constant.
2. Recall the production function, which can be generally written as \(Q = f(L, K)\), where \(Q\) is total output, \(L\) is labor input, and \(K\) is capital input.
3. To find the MPL, focus on how output changes when labor changes by a small amount, holding capital fixed. Mathematically, this is the partial derivative of the production function with respect to labor: \(MPL = \frac{\partial Q}{\partial L}\).
4. Interpret this derivative as the slope of the production function with respect to labor, indicating the additional output produced by one more unit of labor.
5. Recognize that MPL is different from concepts like total output (which depends on all inputs) or returns to scale (which involve proportional changes in all inputs).