74 
POLITICAL ECONOMY 
price only at which as much, or as little, as is 
wanted will be produced. But when decreas 
ing returns rules for the larger output a higher 
price must be paid, and when increasing 
returns rules the larger output brings such 
economies that the supply price falls. Supply 
prices in conjunction with demand prices 
settle the market prices of reproducible things. 
And they also settle the prices of non- 
reproducible things, but in this latter case 
“supply prices” have no reference to cost 
of production. They must be taken to mean 
merely the prices at which owners will part 
with different quantities of the non-repro 
ducible things in question in their possession. 
Let us put the relations between demand 
prices and supply prices in a table relating 
to some industry or other. 
Output in Demand Supply 
tons. price. price. 
In this case, to which decreasing returns has 
been supposed to apply, price would be 16s. 6d., 
1,000 
1,100 
1,200 
1,300 
1,400 
1,500 
17/6 
17/- 
16/8 
16/6 
16/4 
16/- 
16/2 
16/3 
16/5 
16/6 
16/7 
16/9