An American worker can make 20 pairs of shoes per day or grow 100 apples per day. On the other hand, a Brazilian worker can produce 10 pairs of shoes or grow 20 apples per day. Based on this, the United States has a(n) _____ in the production of apples and should produce apples and trade for shoes. (1 point) Responses comparative disadvantage comparative disadvantage absolute advantage absolute advantage scarcity scarcity equilibrium
The United States has an absolute advantage in the production of apples. An absolute advantage is when a country can produce a good or service more efficiently or productively compared to another country. In this case, the American worker can grow 100 apples per day, whereas the Brazilian worker can only produce 20 apples per day. Therefore, the United States should focus on producing apples and trade for the shoes, as they can produce more apples with the same amount of resources.
The answer to this question can be determined by comparing the productivity of American workers in each activity to that of Brazilian workers. The concept of comparative advantage helps us understand which country has a higher opportunity cost in the production of a particular good.
In this case, we can compare the productivity of American workers in terms of shoes and apples. An American worker can make 20 pairs of shoes or grow 100 apples per day. On the other hand, a Brazilian worker can produce 10 pairs of shoes or grow 20 apples per day.
To determine which country has a comparative advantage, we need to calculate the opportunity cost of producing one unit of each good. The opportunity cost is the amount of the other good that has to be given up to produce one unit of a particular good.
For shoes, let's calculate the opportunity cost for each country:
For the United States:
1 pair of shoes = 100 apples / 20 pairs of shoes
1 pair of shoes = 5 apples
For Brazil:
1 pair of shoes = 20 apples / 10 pairs of shoes
1 pair of shoes = 2 apples
From these calculations, we can see that the United States has a higher opportunity cost in terms of shoe production. It needs to give up 5 apples to produce 1 pair of shoes, while Brazil only needs to give up 2 apples.
Therefore, the United States has a comparative disadvantage in the production of shoes. It would be more efficient for the United States to focus on producing apples, as it has a lower opportunity cost in this area. It can then trade its excess apples with Brazil for shoes, as Brazil has a comparative advantage in the production of shoes.
So, the correct answer is: comparative disadvantage.