Chapter 33: Q. 9. (page 803)
Under what conditions does comparative advantage lead to gains from trade?
Short Answer
Due to exchange opportunities and higher total output and level of consumption, comparative advantage lead to gain from trade.
Chapter 33: Q. 9. (page 803)
Under what conditions does comparative advantage lead to gains from trade?
Due to exchange opportunities and higher total output and level of consumption, comparative advantage lead to gain from trade.
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Get started for freeIn World Trade Organization meetings, what do you think low-income countries lobby for?
Are the gains from international trade more likely to be relatively more important to large or small countries?
Is it possible to have a comparative advantage in the production of a good but not to have an absolute advantage? Explain
In Germany, it takes three workers to make one television and four workers to make one video camera. In Poland, it takes six workers to make one television and workers to make one video camera.
(a) Who has the absolute advantage in the production of televisions? Who has the absolute advantage in the production of video cameras? How can you tell?
(b) Calculate the opportunity cost of producing one additional television set in Germany and in Poland. (Your calculation may involve fractions, which is fine.) Which country has a comparative advantage in the production of televisions?
(c) Calculate the opportunity cost of producing one video camera in Germany and in Poland. Which country has a comparative advantage in the production of video cameras?
(d) In this example, is the absolute advantage the same as comparative advantage, or not?
(e) In what product should Germany specialize? In what product should Poland specialize?
You just got a job in Washington, D.C. You move into an apartment with some acquaintances. All your roommates, however, are slackers and do not clean up after themselves. You, on the other hand, can clean faster than each of them. You determine that you are 70% faster at dishes and 10% faster with vacuuming. All of these tasks have to be done daily. Which jobs should you assign to your roommates to get the most free time overall? Assume you have the same number of hours to devote to cleaning. Now, since you are faster, you seem to get done quicker than your roommate. What sorts of problems may this create? Can you imagine a trade-related analogy to this problem?
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