Canada
Honey (IN tons)/ Maple (in tons)
0 60
10 45
20 30
30 15
40 0
United States
Honey (in tons)/ Maple (in tons)
0 50
10 40
20 30
30 20
40 10
50 0
the question is who has a comparative advantage in producing maple syrup and who has the advantage in producing honey..
my answer book is saying when canada produces 1 more ton of maple syrup it produces 0.67 ton less of honey. where'd the 0.67 come from how do you calculate that?
sorry for the data honey for the Canada is
0
10
20
30
40
while maple in tons is 60
45
30
15
0
To determine which country has a comparative advantage in producing maple syrup and honey, we can use the concept of opportunity cost. The opportunity cost measures how much of one product needs to be given up to produce an additional unit of another product.
In this case, we are comparing the production of maple syrup and honey between Canada and the United States. We have the production data in tons for each country.
To find the opportunity cost of producing maple syrup and honey in Canada, we can compare the changes in production between different quantities. Let's use the data for Canada:
Maple syrup (tons) | Honey (tons)
0 | 60
10 | 45
20 | 30
30 | 15
40 | 0
To calculate the opportunity cost of producing maple syrup in Canada, we need to look at how much honey production changes when maple syrup production increases. We can compare the quantities of honey produced at different levels of maple syrup production:
When maple syrup production increases from 0 to 10 tons, honey production decreases from 60 to 45 tons. So, the opportunity cost of 10 tons of maple syrup is 15 tons of honey (60 - 45).
Similarly, when maple syrup production increases from 10 to 20 tons, honey production decreases from 45 to 30 tons. So, the opportunity cost of 10 tons of maple syrup is 15 tons of honey again (45 - 30).
We can continue this pattern and calculate the opportunity cost for each additional 10 tons of maple syrup. Adding up the opportunity costs for each incremental increase in maple syrup, we get:
Opportunity cost of 1 ton of maple syrup = (15 + 15 + 15 + 15) / 4 = 60 / 4 = 15 tons of honey
Therefore, when Canada produces one more ton of maple syrup, it produces 15 fewer tons of honey.
To determine the opportunity cost for the United States, you can perform the same calculations using the given data for honey and maple syrup production in the United States.
Comparing the opportunity costs, the country with the lower opportunity cost has the comparative advantage in producing that particular good. Based on the calculations, Canada has a comparative advantage in producing maple syrup because it has a lower opportunity cost (15 tons of honey) compared to the United States. The United States, on the other hand, has a comparative advantage in producing honey because it has a lower opportunity cost in terms of maple syrup production.
Note: The opportunity cost value of 0.67 tons you mentioned seems to be a rounding error or approximation. The actual value should be 15 tons based on the calculation explained above.