Consider two neighboring island countries called Euphoria and Contente. They each have 4 million labor hours available per week that they can use to produce jeans, rye, or a combination of both. The following table shows the amount of jeans or rye that can be produced using 1 hour of labor. Jeans Rye Country (Pairs per hour of labor) (Bushels per hour of labor) Euphoria 5 20 Contente 8 16 Initially, suppose Contente uses 1 million hours of labor per week to produce jeans and 3 million hours per week to produce rye, while Euphoria uses 3 million hours of labor per week to produce jeans and 1 million hours per week to produce rye. Consequently, Euphoria produces 15 million pairs of jeans and 20 million bushels of rye, and Contente produces 8 million pairs of jeans and 48 million bushels of rye. Assume there are no other countries willing to trade goods, so, in the absence of trade between these two countries, each country consumes the amount of jeans and rye it produces. Euphoria's opportunity cost of producing 1 pair of jeans is of rye, and Contente's opportunity cost of producing 1 pair of jeans is of rye. Therefore, has a comparative advantage in the production of jeans, and has a comparative advantage in the production of rye. Suppose that each country completely specializes in the production of the good in which it has a comparative advantage, producing only that good. In this case, the country that produces jeans will produce million pairs per week, and the country that produces rye will produce million bushels per week.
Consider two neighboring island countries called Euphoria and Contente. They each have 4 million labor hours available per week that they can use to produce jeans, rye, or a combination of both. The following table shows the amount of jeans or rye that can be produced using 1 hour of labor. Jeans Rye Country (Pairs per hour of labor) (Bushels per hour of labor) Euphoria 5 20 Contente 8 16 Initially, suppose Contente uses 1 million hours of labor per week to produce jeans and 3 million hours per week to produce rye, while Euphoria uses 3 million hours of labor per week to produce jeans and 1 million hours per week to produce rye. Consequently, Euphoria produces 15 million pairs of jeans and 20 million bushels of rye, and Contente produces 8 million pairs of jeans and 48 million bushels of rye. Assume there are no other countries willing to trade goods, so, in the absence of trade between these two countries, each country consumes the amount of jeans and rye it produces. Euphoria's opportunity cost of producing 1 pair of jeans is of rye, and Contente's opportunity cost of producing 1 pair of jeans is of rye. Therefore, has a comparative advantage in the production of jeans, and has a comparative advantage in the production of rye. Suppose that each country completely specializes in the production of the good in which it has a comparative advantage, producing only that good. In this case, the country that produces jeans will produce million pairs per week, and the country that produces rye will produce million bushels per week.
Principles of Economics 2e
2nd Edition
ISBN:9781947172364
Author:Steven A. Greenlaw; David Shapiro
Publisher:Steven A. Greenlaw; David Shapiro
Chapter33: International Trade
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 8RQ: What is absolute advantage? What is comparative advantage?
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