Chapter 3, Problem 1QCMC

To determine

The absolute advantage.

Answer to Problem 1QCMC

Option ‘d’ is the correct answer.

Explanation of Solution

Option (d)

Ron has the absolute advantage in washing, since he can wash 3 cars per hour, while David can only wash 2 cars per hour. None has the absolute advantage in mowing as both can only mow 1 lawn in an hour’s time. So option ‘d’ is correct.

Option (a)

David can only wash 2 cars per hours, whereas Ron can wash 3 cars in the same amount of time. So David does not have the absolute advantage in washing cars. Also, both do not have the advantage over the other in mowing the lawn. So option ‘a’ is incorrect.

Option (b)

Ron has an absolute advantage in washing, since he can wash 3 cars per hour, while David can only wash 2 cars per hour but both do not have the advantage over the other in mowing the lawn. So option ‘b’ is incorrect.

Option (c)

None has the absolute advantage in mowing as both can only mow 1 lawn in an hour’s time but Ron has the absolute advantage in washing, since he can wash 3 cars per hour, while David can only wash 2 cars per hour.  So option ‘c’ is incorrect.

Economics Concept Introduction

Concept Introduction:

Absolute advantage: It is the ability to produce a good using fewer inputs than another producer does.