Talk:Cobb–Douglas production function

message: The difficutlies section is not good. The fact that cobb douglas does not have constant returns to scale in general is not a difficulty and does not necessarily clash with proper microfoundations. It is just a property of its general form. 
128.112.41.155 (talk) 18:40, 8 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: The difficulties section

message: Lloyd (2001) claims that the Cobb-Douglas function was proposed by von Thünen, Mill, and Pareto even before it was proposed by Wicksell.
Lloyd, Peter John (2001): The Origins of the von Thunen-Mill-Pareto-Wicksell-Cobb-Douglas Function. History of Political Economy - Volume 33, Number 1, pp. 1-19, http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/history_of_political_economy/v033/33.1lloyd.pdf  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.179.72.230 (talk) 18:31, 24 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Origin

message: I cannot understand why it is that when α + β = 1 there are constant returns to scale. Does anybody know how to derive this?
Sure.  First of all, if α + β = 1, then β = 1 - α, so we'll substitute that in. Also, let's say that n is the factor that we're scaling by.  So our initial setup is
A({\color{Blue}n}L)^\alpha\,({\color{Blue}n}K)^{1-\alpha\,}
A{\color{Blue}n}^\alpha\,L^\alpha\,{\color{Blue}n}^{1-\alpha\,}K^{1-\alpha\,} // distribution of exponents
{\color{Blue}n}^\alpha\,{\color{Blue}n}^{1-\alpha\,}AL^\alpha\,K^{1-\alpha\,} // just reordering things
{\color{Blue}n}^{\alpha\,+1-\alpha\,}AL^\alpha\,K^{1-\alpha\,}  // multiplication with exponents
{\color{Blue}n}^1AL^\alpha\,K^{1-\alpha\,} 
{\color{Blue}n}AL^\alpha\,K^{1-\alpha\,} 
so the result of scaling up both inputs by n is that the final answer is also scaled up by n.
--152.23.101.108 02:30, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Help

message: In my econometrics class, we're taught Q=A*K^alpha*L^beta 149.4.115.3 (talk) 14:12, 28 October 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Q=AKL? 

message: In the section Difficulties and criticisms / Lack of microfoundations; it begins with the text...
The Cobb–Douglas production function was not developed on the basis of any knowledge of engineering, technology, or management of the production process. It was instead developed because it had attractive mathematical characteristics, such as diminishing marginal returns to either factor of production and the property that expenditure on any given input is a constant fraction of total cost.
If any of the contributors can respond with a source citation for this, it would be appreciated!  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nklapper (talk • contribs) 23:10, 13 December 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Quick Question 

message: It is unusual to see such  a technical subject explained so well; my only minor complain is in the intro, when you have the equation, before explaining the algebra, you need a pre algebra explanation for the gen public
something like, the outpput of an economy depends on labor (hours worked), capital (buildings, equipment); the Cobb Douglas is a mathematical expression that gives a particular form to this.
well, that is n't very good, but perhaps you get the point ??
I esp liked the explanation of what a1% elasticity means; that is outstanding - congrats
and please, don't let them tell you it is to simple; it isn't it is just right  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.245.17.105 (talk) 00:19, 17 December 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: verra nice

message: In my economics course we don't have Y in terms of Dollars nor any inputs. We typically use units for both Y, L, and K i.e. L man hours, Y units produced.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nieblham (talk • contribs) 02:09, 11 May 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why is the function measured in terms of dollars? 

message: This part of the article seems to have no sources and to be original research :
"The Cobb–Douglas production function was not developed on the basis of any knowledge of engineering, technology, or management of the production process. This rationale may be true given the definition of the Capital term. Labor hours and Capital need a better definition. If capital is defined as a building, labor is already included in the development of that building. A building is composed of commodities, labor and risks and general conditions. It was instead developed because it had attractive mathematical characteristics, such as diminishing marginal returns to either factor of production and the property that the optimal expenditure shares on any given input of a firm operating a Cobb–Douglas technology are constant. Initially, there were no utility foundations for it. In the modern era, some economists try to build models up from individual agents acting, rather than imposing a functional form on an entire economy. The Cobb–Douglas production function, if properly defined, can be applied at a micro-economic level, up to a macro- economic level."
Can we delete it ? Tucopu (talk) 11:47, 1 November 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Deleting unsourced texts