Question

Suppose that you are on a desert island and possess exactly 20 coconuts. Your neighbor, Friday, is a fisherman, and he is willing to trade 2 fish for every 1 coconut that you are willing to give him. Another neighbor, Kwame, is also a fisherman, and he is willing to trade 3 fish for every 1 coconut.

a. On a single figure, draw budget lines for trading with Friday and for trading with Kwame. (Put coconuts on the vertical axis.)
b. What is the slope of the budget line from trading with Friday?
c. What is the slope of the budget line from trading with Kwame?
d. Which budget line features a larger set of attainable combinations of coconuts and fish?
e. If you are going to trade coconuts for fish, would you rather trade with Friday or Kwame?

Answer 1

a) see attached image

b) Friday's slope = 1/2

c) Kwame's slope = 1/3

d) Kwame's budget line since it includes 60 fish on one side and 20 coconuts on the other.

e) Kwame is willing to pay more fish per coconut