Comparative statics using the cost function

We have shown earlier that cost functions have certain properties that follow
from the structure of the cost minimization problem; we have shown
above that the conditional factor demand functions are simply the derivatives
of the cost functions. Hence, the properties we have found concerning
the cost function will translate into certain restrictions on its derivatives,
the factor demand functions. These restrictions will be the same sort of
restrictions we found earlier using other methods, but their development
using the cost function is quite nice.
Let us go through these restrictions one by one.
1) The cost function is nondecreasing in factor prices. It follows from
this that ~ c ( wy,)/awi= x ~ (wy,)> 0.
2) The cost function is homogeneous of degree 1 in w. Therefore, the
derivatives of the cost function, the factor demands, are homogeneous of
degree 0 in w.