(Redirected from Resource (economics))In
economics, 'factors of production' are resources used in the production of
goods and services.
Land, labor, and capital
Resource categories in economics distinguish among such factors of production as:
★
Land or
natural resource – naturally-occurring goods such as soil and minerals that are used in the creation of products. The payment for land is
rent.
★
Labour – human effort used in production which also includes technical and marketing expertise. The payment for labour (workforce) is a
wage or a
salary.
Wage can be either in
nominal value or in
real value. Usually the salary or wage are marked as "w".
★
Capital goods – human-made goods (or
means of production) which are used in the production of other goods. These include machinery, tools and buildings. In a general sense, the payment for capital may take the form of
interest or dividends.
Classical economics
The distinctions above were first developed in
classical economics, including the work of
Adam Smith (1776),
David Ricardo (1817), and the later contributions of
Karl Marx and
John Stuart Mill as part of one of the first coherent theories of production and distribution in
political economy. Marx in ''
Das Kapital'' refers to the three factors of production as the "holy trinity" of political economy. Working capital was generally viewed as being a stock of physical items such as tools, buildings and machinery. This view was explicitly rejected by Marx. Classical economics developed the
labor theory of value as part of the theory of distribution.
Neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics continued the distinction of land, labor, and capital. It developed an alternative theory of value and distribution. For a modern discussion about problems in defining and theorizing about the neoclassical theory of capital, see
capital controversy.
A fourth factor?
Marshall introduces organization as a fourth factor of production; J.B. Clark gives the co-ordinating function to entrepreneur; Professor Knight introduces managers who co-ordinate.
Some economists mention enterprise,
entrepreneurship,
individual capital or just "
leadership" as a fourth factor. This is when
entrepreneurs think of ideas, organise the other three factors of production, and take risks with their own money and the financial capital of others. Others consider this to be a form of labor or "human capital." When differentiated, the payment for this factor of production is called
profit.
In a market economy, entrepreneurs combine the other factors of production, land, labor, and capital in an innovative way to make a profit. In a planned economy, central planners decide how land, labor, and capital should be used to provide for maximum benefit for all citizens.
Further distinctions from classical and neoclassical
microeconomics include the following:
★ 'Capital' has many meanings, including the
financial capital raised to operate a business. Normally, capital means investment in goods that can produce other goods in the future. It can also refer to machines, roads, factories, schools, and office buildings in which humans produced in order to produce other goods and services.
Investment is important if the economy is to achieve economic growth in the future.
★ 'Fixed Capital' this includes machinery, work plants, equipment, new technology, factories, buildings, and goods that are designed to increase the productive potential of the economy for future years.
★ 'Working Capital' this includes the stocks of finished and semi-finished goods that will be economically consumed in the near future or will be made into a finished consumer good in the near future. It includes also the liquid assets needed for immediate expenses linked to the production process (salaries, invoices, taxes, interests...).
Free trade and movement of factors of production
Free trade laissez faire theory argues that
economic efficiency is achieved in cases where free movement (
laissez passer) of the "factors of production" is permitted.
Karl Polanyi in "
The Great Transformation", however, argued that historically whenever laissez faire policies are adopted, legal moves to prevent the free movement of one of the factors of production always occur (for example current
neo-liberal attempts to free the movement of
capital and
resources are today increasingly tied to
immigration controls).
Human capital and intellectual capital
Contemporary analysis distinguishes
capital goods from other forms of capital such as
human capital. Human capital is acquired through education and training, whether formal or on-the-job. A more recent coinage is
intellectual capital, used especially as to
information technology.
Prior to the
Information Age the land, labour, and capital were used to create substantial wealth due to their scarcity. During the
Information Age (circa 1971-1991), the
Knowledge Age (circa 1991 to 2002), and the
Intangible Economy (2002-present) the primary factors of production have become less concrete. These factors of production are knowledge, collaboration, process-engagement, and time quality. According to economic theory, a "factor of production" is used to create value and economic performance. As the four modern-day factors are all essentially abstract, the current economic age has been called the Intangible Economy. Intangible factors of production are subject to
network effects and the contrary economic laws such as the law of increasing returns. It is therefore important to differentiate between conventional (tangible) economics and intangible economics when discussing issues related to factors of production which change according to the economic era that society is experiencing. For example, ''land'' was a key factor of production in the Agricultural Age.
See also
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Cost of production theory of value
★
Factor world
★
Labor theory of value
★
Microeconomics
★
Optimum factor allocation
★
Production, costs, and pricing
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Production theory basics
★
Productivity world
★
Resource-Based View
References
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