Marginal product and marginal productivity are highly dependent on the particular quantities of the other factors in the production process. Obviously, for example, Crusoe's marginal product and marginal productivity (for any number of hours allocated) would be higher if more coconut palm trees were present on the island. Similarly, we shall find later that the marginal productivity of labor tends to be far greater in an advanced, highly capitalized economy. Consequently, increases in productivity can often be obtained without corresponding increases in "effort."

Although our example has involved only a single stage of production, the marginal product and marginal productivity of higher-order factors can be calculated in exactly the same manner. In each case, the factor's marginal product is the additional quantity of the consumer's good that is generated by the marginal (i. e., last) unit of the factor. The factor's marginal productivity is the value of that marginal product.