It is possible to create spiritual and material benefits using resources and factors of production. These categories are extremely important in economic theory. Production resources are nothing more than a combination of financial and material resources, social, spiritual and natural forces used in the process of creating services, goods, and other values. Here are the types of economic theory that divides the resources of production:
The first group is natural. This refers to substances and natural forces that are potentially suitable for further use in production. Among them are "exhaustible" and "inexhaustible."
The second group is material. These are all means of production that were created by man and in themselves are the result of production.
The third group is labor. This includes the working-age population. It is evaluated in this aspect by some parameters: cultural, educational, vocational, and socio-demographic.
The fourth group is financial. This refers to the funds allocated to the organization of production.
As technology moved from preindustrial to postindustrial, the importance of resources changed. Previously, priority was given to labor and natural resources, but now it is informational and intellectual.
Three groups of resources that are inherent in almost any production are called basic - these are labor, material and natural. But the financial ones that arose only at the “market” stage are called derivatives.
But this is not one classification of production resources. Other scientists suggest dividing them into three groups: the first - general, the second - specific and the third - interspecific. General - these are those whose value does not depend on whether they are in this company or not. Specific - their value outside the company is much lower than inside it. And interspecific - mutually unique, complementary resources and their maximum value is achieved only in a particular company and exclusively through it.
Resources and factors of production are close concepts. But there are differences in them. It was previously noted that resources are those natural, social, material forces that can only be involved in production. And the factors of modern production are one of the economic categories that denotes resources already involved in the production process itself. Thus, resources and production factors are close concepts, but the concept of "production resources" is broader than the concept of "production factors". That is, factors of production are producing resources.
Resources and factors of production have their own classifications. The first was discussed above, but the second:
1. Earth - the so-called natural goods that are customary to use in the process of any production. They can be forest, air, minerals and so on. Land is considered a limited resource, so it is customary to charge for it, called rent.
2. Labor is the mental and physical efforts used by people in the production of services and goods. People realize their ability to work for a fee called wages.
3. Capital - it is usually expended precisely in the production process. Therefore, capital is provided for use also for a fee, which is called "interest on capital".
4. Entrepreneurship. Its main task is to bring together capital, labor and land within the framework of the production process . And for the efforts and risk that are invested in the business, he gets paid, or in another way - profit.
Factors of production can really be controlled, owned or used by the state, firms or private individuals.