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[Joseph_E._Stiglitz,_Carl_E._Walsh]_Economics(Bookos.org) (1)

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REAL PRODUCT WAGE ( w – p )

Marginal

product

of labor

QUANTITY OF LABOR

If we divide both sides of the previous equation giving the equilibrium condition

by the price, we obtain the condition

MPL = w/p.

The wage divided by the price of the good being produced is defined as the real

product wage. It measures what firms pay workers in terms of the goods the worker

produces rather than in dollar terms. Thus, the firm hires workers up to the point

at which the real product wage equals the marginal product of labor.

This principle is illustrated in Figure 8.8, which shows the marginal product of

labor. Because of diminishing returns, the marginal product diminishes as labor

(and output) increases. As the real product wage increases, the demand for labor

decreases.

FIGURE 8.8

THE FIRM’S DEMAND CURVE

FOR LABOR AND THE REAL

PRODUCT WAGE

Firms hire labor up to the point at which

the real product wage equals the marginal

product of labor. As the real product wage

increases, the demand for labor decreases.

Wrap-Up

FACTOR DEMAND

A factor of production will be demanded up to the point at which the value of the

marginal product of that factor equals its price. In the case of labor, this is the same

as saying that the marginal product of labor equals the real product wage.

FROM THE FIRM’S FACTOR DEMAND TO THE

MARKET’S FACTOR DEMAND

Once we have derived the firm’s demand curve for labor, we can derive the total

market demand for labor. At a given set of prices, we simply add up the demand for

labor by each firm at any particular wage rate. The total is the market demand at that

wage. Since each firm reduces the amount of labor that it demands as the wage

increases, the market demand curve is downward sloping.

Labor Supply, Demand, and the

Equilibrium Wage

We have now discussed the factors that determine labor supply decisions and those

that determine the demand for labor by firms. Households decide how much labor

to supply to the marketplace, at each value of the wage. If the substitution effect

dominates, higher real wages increase the quantity of labor supplied. Firms decide

how much labor to demand at each value of the wage. At higher real wages, the quantity

of labor that firms demand is lower. The labor market is in equilibrium when

the wage has adjusted to balance labor supply and labor demand. When the labor

184 ∂ CHAPTER 8 LABOR MARKETS

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