Hi readers!
Today, Let us understand about production
possibility curve.
In a very simple language,
Production possibility curve is
the locus of various combination of two goods or services which an economy can
produce by mobilizing its available resources in its optimum way. It is also
known as “Transformation Curve” because resources are transformed from one product
to produce other product.
As we know that, Professor Lionel
Robbins of London school of Economics had defined economics entirely in terms
of scarcity and choice in his book “An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic
Science” published in 1932 A.D.
As per modern economists Prof. Lionel
Robbins and his followers like Karl Manger, Peter, Stigler, Scitovosky etc. :-
- Human Wants are Unlimited (If one wants
gets satisfied another creeps on)
- Means have alternative uses
- Wants differs in urgency (Some
wants are more urgent than other)
- Means to satisfy those unlimited
wants are limited
- Therefore, Problem of choice
occurs
These problem of an economy are graphically
explained by the help of production possibility curve.
Assumptions made by Economists to
apply the concept of Production Possibilities Curve:
- An Economy produces only two goods
and services.
- All the available resources are
limited and fully utilized
- There is no change in Resources
and Technology
- Factors of Production are fully
mobile from one use to other
On the basis of these assumptions,
following production possibility schedule is prepared:
Production Possibilities
|
Product X (‘000 units)
|
Product Y (‘000 units)
|
A
|
0
|
20
|
B
|
1
|
19
|
C
|
2
|
16
|
D
|
3
|
12
|
E
|
4
|
5
|
F
|
5
|
0
|
Explanation of Production Possibility Schedule:
On the basis of above assumptions,
An Economy produces only two goods and services named Product X and Product Y at
fully utilized resources. There are several production possibilities shown in
above table from A, B, C, D, E and F.
In an economy there can be only
three cases:
- Produce only Product Y (Use all
its resources to produce Y i.e Production Possibilities A)
- Produce only Product X (Use all its resources to produce X i.e Production Possibilities F )
- Produce some Product X and some
Product Y (Diversify the resources to produce both goods i.e Production
Possibilities B,C,D and E )
Representing the above Production
Possibilities schedule in graph we find the following curve:
In the above figure:
OX and OY represents X-axis and
Y-axis that shows Product X (‘000 units) and Product Y (‘000 units) respectively.
A is the point where only product
Y is produced and F is the point where
only product X is produced. Similarly, B, C,D and E are the various production combinations whereby
both of the products are produced accompanying the above assumptions. A curve
obtained by combining all the points from A
to F is known as Production Possibility Curve.
It is to be noted that, an economy
can’t choose a point G or point H – as it violates the assumption of Production
Possibility Curve.
- At point G - there would be some
unused resources.
- At point H - there would be
resource constraints.
Therefore, Production Possibility
Curve is also known as “Transformation Curve” because resources are transformed
from one product to produce other product.
However, the Production
Possibility Curve may have shift ( Rightward or Leftward ) depending upon the following
two main reason:
- Change in Resources
- Change in Technology
If there is positive change in Resources
and Technology the Production Possibility Curve will shift upward to the right
and if there is negative change in Resources and Technology the Production
Possibility Curve will shift downward to the left.
This can be shown by following figure:
In the above figure:
OX and OY represents X-axis
and Y-axis that shows Product X (‘000 units) and Product Y (‘000 units) respectively.
AF shows initial Production
Possibility Curve. Similarly, A’F’ shows unfavorable change in Resources and
Technology whereas A”F” shows the favorable changes in Resources and Technology
in an economy. This has resulted shift in Production Possibility Curve.
Here,
A’F’ shows downward shift in Production Possibility Curve and A”F” shows upward
shift in Production Possibility Curve.
Therefore, P.A.Samuelson has
rightly remarked as -
“Production possibility curve is
that curve which represents the maximum amount of a pair of goods and services
that can be produced with an economy’s given resources and technique, assuming
that all resources are fully employed.”