Name_____________________________

Robinson Crusoe Economy Exercise

Complete the following activity in the empty spaces, on the back, or a separate sheet of paper:

If Robinson Crusoe uses 5 hours of the day collecting food he can produce the following combinations:

Table 1

Time Spent
Fishing Fish Coconuts
0 hours 0 15
1 hours 1 14
2 hours 2 12
3 hours 3 9
4 hours 4 5
5 hours 5 0

Part 1: Using Table 1 data, create a graph and plot the PPF for the Robinson Crusoe economy.
Q1: What is the opportunity cost of increasing his production of coconuts from 5 to 12?

Part 2: Let’s assume Robinson Crusoe discovers a way to make a fish net out of vines and therefore can
increase the size of his fish catches. In addition, Robinson Crusoe invents a “bolo” which he can throw at
coconuts in the trees which increases the number of coconuts he can bring down. Using Table 2 data, illustrate
the expansion of the PPF graph
Table 2

Time Spent
Fishing Fish Coconuts
0 hours 0 18
1 hours 4 17
2 hours 5 15
3 hours 6 12
4 hours 7 8
5 hours 8 0
Q2: What type of economic resource did Robinson Crusoe create when he made his tools?

Q3: What is the opportunity cost of producing 7 fish if Robinson Crusoe is currently producing
4?