Production Theory : Proceedings of an International Seminar Held at the University at Karlsruhe May – July 1973

The first of its kind, a seminar on Production Theory was held at the University of Karlsruhe during May and June 1973. Seven of the nineteen resource participants were from Canada, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.S.A., to make the seminar an international symposium. The other participants involved a variety of experts from German universities. Karlsruhe supplied the predominant part of the German contributors. For the discussions of the seminar twenty papers spanning a large part of production theory were prepared and these papers are herewith published as a coherent collection under the title: KARLSRUHE SEMINAR ON PRODUCTION THEORY. Papers on scalar valued production functions are organized in Part 1. Several of these provide new characterizations of CES productiop functions, partly in connection with technical progress, and two others are related to homothetic production functions. Six papers on multisectoral production models have been included in Parts 2 and 3, addressed in part to problems of dynamic structures, disaggregation and relaxation of simple homogeneity. Turning next to more general production models, Part 4 contains five papers involving set valued production functionsor production correspondences, dealing with such topics as efficient pOints, stochastic aspects, homogeneity, homotheticity and the law of diminishing returns. Finally three papers not fitting the above classification scheme, and related to product life cycle, value and cost of information systems, and decision models, have been included in Part 5. .IV It is interesting that nearly one half of the twenty papers deal with or contain functional equations, as opposed to the use of calculus for the expression of production theory, and a substantial number involve set valued functions or correspondences, pOinting perhaps to new roles of mathematics in production theory. Front Matter....Pages I-VIII Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Invariant Relationships for Homothetic Production Functions....Pages 3-20 Characterization of the CES Production Functions by Quasilinearity....Pages 21-33 Technical Progress, Neutral Inventions, and Cobb-Douglas....Pages 35-45 A Characterization of Hicks Neutral Technical Progress....Pages 47-51 On Linear Expansion Paths and Homothetic Production Functions....Pages 53-64 Neutral Inventions and CES Production Functions....Pages 65-94 Front Matter....Pages 95-95 Production Duality and the von Neumann Theory of Growth and Interest....Pages 97-99 A Note on a Production Problem in a Multisectoral Economic Model....Pages 101-107 A Dynamic Input-Output Model with Variable Production Structure....Pages 109-120 Disaggregated Production Functions....Pages 121-143 Front Matter....Pages 145-145 Balanced Growth of Open Economies under Variable Degree of Homogeneity....Pages 147-176 On Weak Homogeneity....Pages 177-203 Front Matter....Pages 205-205 Continuity of Production Correspondences and a Relation between Efficient Input and Output Vectors....Pages 207-219 On Efficient Points of a Stochastic Production Correspondence....Pages 221-230 Production Correspondences and Convex Algebra....Pages 231-252 Semi-Homogeneous Production Functions and Scaling of Production....Pages 253-285 The Law of Diminishing Returns....Pages 287-318 Front Matter....Pages 319-319 A Category of Production Decision Models....Pages 321-333 Value and Cost of Information Systems....Pages 335-358 On the Problem of Product Life Cycle....Pages 359-373 Back Matter....Pages 375-391