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Credit
Gregory N Mankiw
Contents
01 02 03
What makes How trade What are
people and makes everyone absolute and
nations depend better-off? comparative
on each other? advantage?
Interdependence Hair gel from
Cleveland, OH
Let’s look at how much of both goods each country produces and consumes
Wheat (tons)
❖ India has 50,000 hours of
labor available for 5,000
1,000
0
100 200 300 400 500 Computers
India Without Trade
Wheat (tons)
5,000
2,000
1,000
0
100 200 300 400 500 Computers
Production Possibilities in China (PPC)
Wheat (tons)
❖ China has 30,000 hours of
labor available for
production, per month. 2,000
0
100 200 300 Computers
China Without Trade
Wheat (tons)
0
100 200 300 Computers
India’s Production With Trade
Wheat (tons)
5,000
❖ Producing 3400 tons of wheat requires 34,000 labor
4,000 hours.
1,000
0
100 200 300 400 500 Computers
China’s Production With Trade
Wheat (tons)
0
100 200 300 Computers
Consumption under Trade
Exports: Goods produced domestically and sold abroad. To export means to sell domestically produced
goods abroad.
Imports: Goods produced abroad and sold domestically. To import means to purchase goods produced
in other countries.
❖ Suppose India exports 700 tons of wheat to China, and imports 110 computers from China.
❖ So, China imports 700 tons wheat and exports 110 computers.
❖ How much of each good is consumed in India? Let’s Plot this combination on India PPC.
❖ How much of each good is consumed in China? Let’s Plot this combination on China’s PPC.
India Consumption With Trade
Wheat (tons)
Computers Wheat
5,000
Produced 160 3400
+ Imported 110 0
4,000 - Exported 0 700
Computers Wheat
Produced 240 0
2,000 + Imported 0 700
- Exported 110 0
0
100 200 300 Computers
Trade Makes Both Countries Better Off
India
China
❖ India has an absolute advantage in wheat: producing a ton of wheat uses 10 labor hours in India vs. 25 in
China.
❖ If each country has an absolute advantage in one good and specializes in that good, then both countries can
gain from trade.
❖ When each country specializes in the good(s) in which it has a comparative advantage, total production in all countries
is higher, the world’s “economic pie” is bigger, and all countries can gain from trade.
❖ The same applies to individual producers specializing in different goods and trading with each other.
Another Example:
❖ Bangladesh and Sri Lanka each have 10,000 hours of labor per month.
In Bangladesh:
In Sri Lanka:
Which country has an absolute advantage in the production of tea? Which country has a comparative advantage in the
production of silk?
Answer
Sri Lanka has an absolute advantage in tea:
❖ Producing a pound of tea requires only one labor hour in Sri Lanka, but two in Bangladesh.
❖ Bangladesh’s opportunity cost of silk is two pounds of tea, because the four labor-hours required
to produce one pound of silk could instead produce two pounds of tea.
Summary:
❖ Interdependence and trade allow everyone to enjoy a greater quantity and variety of goods & services.
❖ Comparative advantage means being able to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost. Absolute advantage
means being able to produce a good with fewer inputs.
❖ When people—or countries—specialize in the goods in which they have a comparative advantage, the
economic “pie” grows, and trade can make everyone better off.