Production Choices and Costs: The Short Run
Read this section to learn about the behavior of the producer in the short run. Attempt the "Try It" problems at the end of the section before checking your answers. Take a moment to read through the stated learning outcomes for this chapter of the text, which you can find at the beginning of each section. These outcomes should be your goals as you read through the chapter.
Case in Point: The Production of Fitness
How much should an athlete train?
Sports physiologists often measure the "total product" of training as the increase in an athlete's aerobic capacity – the capacity to absorb oxygen into the bloodstream. An athlete can be thought of as producing aerobic capacity using a fixed factor (his or her natural capacity) and a variable input (exercise). The chart shows how this aerobic capacity varies with the number of workouts per week. The curve has a shape very much like a total product curve – which, after all, is precisely what it is.
The data suggest that an athlete experiences increasing marginal returns from exercise for the first three days of training each week; indeed, over half the total gain in aerobic capacity possible is achieved. A person can become even more fit by exercising more, but the gains become smaller with each added day of training. The law of diminishing marginal returns applies to training.
The increase in fitness that results from the sixth and seventh workouts each week is small. Studies also show that the costs of daily training, in terms of increased likelihood of injury, are high. Many trainers and coaches now recommend that athletes – at all levels of competition – take a day or two off each week.