The marginal products of the first, second, and third workers are 20, 12, and 8, respectively. If four workers can produce 45 units of output, then the marginal product of the fourth worker is
A) 4.
B) 5.
C) 40.
D) 45.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The marginal product of a worker is the additional output produced by adding one more worker. The total output from the first three workers is 20 (from the first worker) + 12 (from the second worker) + 8 (from the third worker) = 40 units. If four workers can produce 45 units in total, then the fourth worker's marginal product is the difference between the total output with four workers and the total output with three workers, which is 45 - 40 = 5 units.

The Marginal Products of the First, Second, and Third Workers