What Is Maria 's Opportunity Cost Of Reading 100 Pages Of Sociology

1. Maria can read 20 pages of economics in an hour. She can also read 50 pages of sociology in an hour. She spends 5 hours per day studying.

• Draw Maria’s production possibilities frontier for reading economics and sociology.

If Maria spends five hours studying economics, she can read 100 pages. If she spends five hours studying sociology, she can read 250 pages. The time costs are constant the production possibilities frontier is a straight line.

• What is Maria’s opportunity cost of reading 100 pages of sociology?

It takes Maria two hours to read 100 pages of sociology. Maria could read 40 pages of economics in that time.

3. Pat and Kris are roommates. They spend most of their time studying (of course), but they leave some time for their favorite activities: making pizza and brewing root beer. Pat takes 4 hours to brew a gallon of root beer and 2 hours to make a pizza. Kris takes 6 hours to brew a gallon of root beer and 4 hours to make a pizza.

• What is each roommate’s opportunity cost of making a pizza? Who has the absolute advantage in making pizza? Who has the comparative advantage in making pizza?

Pat 's opportunity cost of making a pizza is 1/2 gallon of root beer, since she could brew 1/2 gallon in 2 hours it takes her to make a pizza. Pat has an absolute advantage in making pizza since she can make one in two hours, while it takes Kris four hours. Kris ' opportunity cost of making a pizza is 2/3 gallons of root beer, since she could brew 2/3 of a gallon in the time (4 hours) it takes her to make a pizza. Pat opportunity cost of making pizza is less than Kris; Pat has a comparative advantage in making pizza.

• If Pat and Kris trade foods with each other, who will trade away pizza in exchange for root beer?

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...othing in comparison to Bill’s one unit of clothing he has the comparative advantage in producing food. Hillary has the comparative advantage of producing clothing.

• Draw the production possibilities frontier for the household (that is, Bill and Hillary together) assuming that each spends the same number of hours each day as the other producing food and clothing.

• Hillary suggests, instead, that she specialize in making clothing. That is, she will do all the clothing production for the family; however, if all her time is devoted to clothing and they still want more, then Bill can help with clothing production. What does the household production possibilities frontier look like now?

Hillary will spend all of her time making clothing and Bill will have to stop production on the food which will decrease his productivity there to help Hillary with the clothing.