ECON-200 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Comparative Advantage, Opportunity Cost, Absolute Advantage

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coppermule660

21 Jun 2020

School

Diablo Valley College

Department

Economics

Course

ECON-200

Professor

Sorce

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Today we will discuss the reasons individuals and nations choose to be interdependent. The bottom line is that people and nations choose to be interdependent (trade) because they are better off that is, there are gains from trade. Gains occur if and when a nation specializes in producing the good for which it has the lowest opportunity cost. Even if a country is superior at producing all goods, it can gain from trade if it specializes in producing the good for which it has a comparative advantage. Example of the gains from trade (cattle rancher and potato farmer) setup: The purpose of this two person, two good, example is: To show that gains from trade are possible even if one producer is better at producing both goods. The economy has only two goods meat and potatoes. The economy has only two individuals (you can think of these two individuals as two countries, say the u. s. and japan)

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3. Gains from trade

Consider two neighboring island countries called Felicidad and Arcadia. They each have 4 million labor hours available per month 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.

Country	Jeans	Rye
Country	(Pairs per hour of labor)	(Bushels per hour of labor)
Felicidad	8	32
Arcadia	12	24

Initially, suppose Arcadia uses 1 million hours of labor per month to produce jeans and 3 million hours per month to produce rye, while Felicidad uses 3 million hours of labor per month to produce jeans and 1 million hours per month to produce rye. Consequently, Felicidad produces 24 million pairs of jeans and 32 million bushels of rye, and Arcadia produces 12 million pairs of jeans and 72 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.

Felicidad's opportunity cost of producing 1 pair of jeans is _____ of rye, and Arcadia'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 ______ millions pairs per month, and the country that produces rye will produce ______ millions bushels per month.

In the following table, enter each country's production decision on the third row of the table (marked "Production").

Suppose the country that produces jeans trades 26 million pairs of jeans to the other country in exchange for 78 million bushels of rye.

In the following table, select the amount of each good that each country exports and imports in the boxes across the row marked "Trade Action," and enter each country's final consumption of each good on the line marked "Consumption."

When the two countries did not specialize, the total production of jeans was 36 million pairs per month, and the total production of rye was 104 million bushels per month. Because of specialization, the total production of jeans has increased by ____ million pairs per month, and the total production of rye has increased by _____ million bushels per month.

Because the two countries produce more jeans and more rye under specialization, each country is able to gain from trade.

Calculate the gains from tradeâthat is, the amount by which each country has increased its consumption of each good relative to the first row of the table. In the following table, enter this difference in the boxes across the last row (marked "Increase in Consumption").

	Felicidad		Arcadia
	Jeans	Rye	Jeans	Rye
	(Millions of pairs)	(Millions of bushels)	(Millions of pairs)	(Millions of bushels)
Without Trade
Production	24	32	12	72
Consumption	24	32	12	72
With Trade ? ? ? ?
Production	?	?	?	?
Trade action	?	?	?	?
Consumption	?	?	?	?
Gains from Trade ? ? ? ?
Increase in Consumption	?	?	?	?

3. Gains from trade

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 rye, jeans, or a combination of both. The following table shows the amount of rye or jeans that can be produced using 1 hour of labor.

Country	Rye	Jeans
Country	(Bushels per hour of labor)	(Pairs per hour of labor)
Euphoria	8	32
Contente	12	24

Initially, suppose Contente uses 1 million hours of labor per week to produce rye and 3 million hours per week to produce jeans, while Euphoria uses 3 million hours of labor per week to produce rye and 1 million hours per week to produce jeans. Consequently, Euphoria produces 24 million bushels of rye and 32 million pairs of jeans, and Contente produces 12 million bushels of rye and 72 million pairs of jeans. 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 rye and jeans it produces.

Euphoria's opportunity cost of producing 1 bushel of rye isï¼ ï¼ of jeans, and Contente's opportunity cost of producing 1 bushel of rye isï¼ ï¼ of jeans. Therefore, ï¼ ï¼has a comparative advantage in the production of rye, andï¼ ï¼ has a comparative advantage in the production of jeans.

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 rye will produce ï¼ ï¼million bushels per week, and the country that produces jeans will produce ï¼ ï¼ million pairs per week.

In the following table, enter each country's prod uction decision on the third row of the table (marked "Production").

Suppose the country that produces rye trades 26 million bushels of rye to the other country in exchange for 78 million pairs of jeans.

When the two countries did not specialize, the total production of rye was 36 million bushels per week, and the total production of jeans was 104 million pairs per week. Because of specialization, the total production of rye has increased byï¼ ï¼million bushels per week, and the total production of jeans has increased by ï¼ ï¼million pairs per week.

Because the two countries produce more rye and more jeans under specialization, each country is able to gain from trade.

	Euphoria		Contente
	Rye	Jeans	Rye	Jeans
	(Millions of bushels)	(Millions of pairs)	(Millions of bushels)	(Millions of pairs)
Without Trade
Production	24	32	12	72
Consumption	24	32	12	72
With Trade
Production
Trade action
Consumption
Gains from Trade
Increase in Consumption

For which of the following nations does international trade account for the largest percentage of GDP?
A) Japan
B) The Netherlands
C) Germany
D) Great Britain
E) the United States

2. Suppose that workers in Transylvania can produce only two goods-- yo-yos or sweat socks. The Transylvanian currency is the dealer. In what unit is the opportunity cost of yo-yos measured?
A) dealers
B) dealers per yo-yo
C) dealers per sweat sock
D) yo-yos
E) sweat socks

3. For each watch Denmark produces, it gives up the opportunity to make 50 pounds of cheese. Germany can produce one watch for every100 pounds of cheese it produces. Which of the following is true with regard to opportunity costs in the two countries?
A) The opportunity cost of producing watches is lower in Denmark.
B) The opportunity cost of producing cheese is lower in Denmark.
C) The opportunity cost of producing watches is identical in both countries.
D) It is impossible to compare opportunity costs because the two countries use different currencies.
E) In Germany the opportunity cost of producing one pound of cheese is one watch.

4. For each bow the Romans are producing, they give up the opportunity to make 10 arrows. The Dacians are giving up producing2 bows for every 40 arrows they are producing. Which of the following is true regarding comparative advantage?
A) The Romans have a comparative advantage in producing arrows
B) The Romans have a comparative advantage in producing bows
C) The Romans have a comparative advantage in producing arrows and bows
D) The Dacians have a comparative advantage in producing arrows and bows
E) The Dacians have a comparative advantage in producing bows

5. Which of the following is not a basis for trade between two nations?
A) different skill levels of the labor forces
B) one nation's absolute advantage
C) a difference in tastes between countries
D) economies of scale
E) different capital stocks

6. The opportunity cost of producing one car in Germany is 2,000bushels of wheat, and the opportunity cost of producing one car in Canada is 1,200 bushels of wheat. The two countries can realize mutual gains from trade if they agree on terms of trade that are
A) greater than 2,000 bushels of wheat per car
B) less than 1,200 bushels of wheat per car
C) greater than 1,200 bushels of wheat per car and less than 2,000bushels of wheat per car, and Germany produces wheat
D) greater than 1,200 bushels of wheat per car and less than 2,000bushels of wheat per car, and Germany produces cars
E) greater than 1,200 bushels of wheat per car and less than 2,000bushels of wheat per car, and each country produces both goods

7. The rate at which two countries trade one good for another
A) is known as the foreign exchange rate
B) is known as the terms of trade
C) is known as the export line
D) equals the slope of the import line
E) equals the common slope of the countries' production possibilities frontiers

8. Which of the following is true?
A) International trade makes it possible for a country's consumption possibilities to exceed its production possibilities.
B) International trade requires that a country's production possibilities exceed its consumption possibilities.
C) A country's production possibilities always equal its consumption possibilities.
D) A country's consumption possibilities can never equal its production possibilities because of leakages in the system.
E) As long as there is full employment of resources, a country's production possibilities will exceed its consumption possibilities even with trade.

9. Which of the following is not a reason for international specialization?
A) some countries have educated, trained workers, while other countries have unskilled workers
B) tastes and preferences tend to be different in different countries
C) economies of scale can allow larger, specialized producers to operate at a lower average cost
D) mineral resources are often concentrated in particular countries
E) the world price of a good is determined by the world supply and demand for it

10. Ad valorem tariffs on imports are based on a percentage of an import's value; specific tariffs are based on a lump sum per physical unit imported.
A) True
B) False

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ECON-200 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Comparative Advantage, Opportunity Cost, Absolute Advantage

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