A Jigsaw Puzzle As Model For Macroeconomic Analysis

Abstract

A particular approach to the macroeconomic theory of production is considering production as a jigsaw puzzle that must be approached from a combinatorial point of view. This implies that an end production for the entrepreneur is one of the various possible ways of achieving production, and one particular mode is the optimal one—the one that provides the highest production at the lowest cost. Production factors can be combined or ordered in various possible ways and each combination will deliver a different level of production. Each combination in production is called a menu. Therefore, a jigsaw puzzle can be understood as modelling the necessary steps in the selection of menus to achieve the final creation which is the final production. Working with the jigsaw puzzle approach will require the task of numbering and counting all menus, assessing them, putting them in sequence and, eventually, selecting the best of them. The total and singular reality of a jigsaw puzzle will be the highest production that has been achieved with a specific combination of factors.