关键词: 生产力, 生产关系, 函数形式, 数据产生过程

Abstract: Xi Jinping mentions the term “production function” for the first time in the article “Understanding the New Development Stage, Applying the New Development Philosophy, and Creating a New Development Dynamic” and calls for the innovation of the production function. The function itself is a relation, but the production function that emphasizes the external reference to nature is not the same as the production relations. Productivity in the broad sense corresponds to the production function, and the production relations are components of productivity. Even in the narrow technical definition of productivity, production relations mediate the integration of different levels of productivity and join the process of productivity formation. Analogous to Newtons first law of motion (also known as the law of inertia), this paper introduces “the first law of motion of productivity”: productivity remains in its original state of motion or at rest until an external force forces it to change its state of motion. This paper finds that in the normal interaction of “production relations” and “productivity”, productivity determines production relations, and production relations react on productivity; while the two are in an extraordinary state of interlocking, changes in production relations create new productive forces. Regarding “capital”, an important production relation, this paper, based on Marxs analysis, argues that the “production” of capital is indirect and cannot be placed alongside the direct labor and material factors in the production function. This paper also makes methodological reflections on the construction of the production function.

Key words: productivity, production relations, functional form, datagenerating process