In standard microeconomic theory, short-run and long-run marginal costs are
equal for production equipment with adjusted capacity. When the production
of joint products from interdependent equipment is modeled with a linear
program, this equality is no longer verified. The short-run marginal cost
then takes on a left-hand value and a right-hand value which generally
differ from the long-run marginal cost. In this article, we demonstrate and
interpret the relationship existing between long-run marginal cost and
shortrun marginal costs for a given finished product. That relationship is
simply expressed as a function of marginal capacity adjustments (determined
in the long run) and marginal values of capacities (determined in the short
run).