Question

suppose you can mow a lawn in two hours and wash cars in the same amount of time. Your neighbor, Mr. Gedye, can mow a lawn in one hour. In order for him to have a comparative advantage in mowing lawns, how many cars must he be able to wash in two hours

Answer 1

Mr. Gedye must be able to wash fewer than two cars in two hours to have a comparative advantage in mowing lawns, since he can already mow a lawn in one hour while it takes two hours for the student to mow or wash cars.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question involves the concept of comparative advantage, which is essential in understanding how individuals or entities can benefit from specialization and trade. To determine Mr. Gedye's comparative advantage in mowing lawns, we compare his productivity in mowing lawns to washing cars. If you can mow a lawn in two hours and wash cars in the same amount of time, your productivity ratio for the two tasks is 1:1. Mr. Gedye can mow a lawn in one hour, showing he has a 2:1 productivity ratio in mowing lawns compared to you. In order for Mr. Gedye to have a comparative advantage in mowing lawns over washing cars, he must be able to wash less than two cars in the same two hours it takes you to mow a lawn.

If he can wash two or more cars in the same time frame, then he has no comparative advantage in mowing lawns over washing cars, as his productivity ratios are equal or greater for washing cars. Therefore, to have a comparative advantage in mowing lawns, Mr. Gedye would need to be able to wash fewer than two cars in two hours.

Answer 2

we can assume that you can mow a lawn in 2 hours and was 4 cars during the same 2 hours.

your opportunity cost of mowing a lawn in 2 hours = 4/1 = 4 cars

your neighbor can mow a lawn in just 1 hour, so he can mow 2 lawns in 2 hours:

in order for him to have a comparative advantage in mowing lawns, his opportunity cost of mowing a lawn in 2 hours should be lower be lower than yours. So x/2 < 4, that means that x < 8. If your neighbor washes 7 or less cars in 2 hours, then he will have a competitive advantage in mowing lawns. e.g. 7/2 = 3.5 cars; 6/2 = 3 cars, etc.

You can introduce any number to the amount of cars washed per 2 hours, all you need to do is adjust: x/2 < the number of cars you decide