Joint Production and the Structure of Technology: A Generalization

Abstract.

In this paper, we have a peek inside the black box of technology in an attempt to get a better understanding of the concept of joint production. We introduce the notion of input and output subtechnologies; these are then used as building blocks to define various types of production processes, either joint or nonjoint. Thus, in the 2×2 case, we are able to identify up to 36 different production structures, some of which are well known, but most of which are new. These are all described in the primal quantity space as well as in the dual price space. Comparative statics results for the 2×2 joint production process are derived.