Final answer:
A country having an absolute advantage in production does not guarantee it also has a comparative advantage. Comparative advantage is determined by opportunity cost, not just production efficiency. The opportunity cost calculations are needed to establish comparative advantages and guide specialization and trade decisions.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a country has an absolute advantage in the production of an item, it means that it can produce more of that item per unit of labor than another country. However, this does not necessarily mean that the country also has a comparative advantage. A comparative advantage occurs when a country can produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than other countries. To determine the comparative advantage, one must calculate the opportunity cost for each good that the countries are capable of producing.
For example, if we calculate the opportunity cost of producing 10 additional tons of rubber in Japan and in Malaysia, we can determine which country has a comparative advantage in rubber production by seeing who has the lower opportunity cost. This concept helps countries decide in which product they should specialize based on their comparative advantage, which leads to more efficient global production and higher levels of consumption.
Consequently, even if Japan has an absolute advantage in producing a particular item, it will only have a comparative advantage if the opportunity cost of producing that item is lower than in other countries. Therefore, to reach a conclusion, an opportunity cost calculation is imperative.