Question

Suppose that Spain and Austria both produce oil and olives. Spain's opportunity cost of producing a crate of olives is 5 barrels of oil while Austria's opportunity cost of producing a crate of olives is 10 barrels of oil. By comparing the opportunity cost of producing olives in the two countries, you can tell that_________ has a comparative advantage in the production of olives and___________ has a comparative advantage in the production of oil.

Suppose that Spain and Austria consider trading olives and oil with each other. Spain can gain from specialization and trade as long as it receives more than _________of oil for each crate of olives it exports to Austria. Similarly, Austria can gain from trade as long as it receives more than _________of olives for each barrel of Oil it exports to Spain.

Answer 1

Spain and Austria

a. Spain

b. Austria

c. 5 barrels of oil

d. 0.5 barrels of olives

Step-by-step explanation:

Spain enjoys comparative advantage in the production of olives while Austria enjoys comparative advantage in the production of oil because Spain can produce olives at lower costs than Austria while Austria can produce oil more efficiently than Spain. When these two countries specialize in the production of the product that they enjoy comparative advantage, more goods will be produced in total, and they can exchange their surpluses with the other nation.