Why does a firm maximize its profits by hiring so that VMP = W?

What will be an ideal response?


The VMP represents the additional revenue generated by the last worker. The wage is the cost of the last worker. If VMP > W, then an additional worker adds more to revenue than to cost and so hiring the worker boosts the firm's profit. Conversely, if VMP < W, then decreasing labor reduces costs more than it reduces revenue and thereby decreasing the quantity of labor it employs raises the firm's profit. Only when VMP = W can no other level of labor create a greater profit.

Economics

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