You and your friend Olivia are both volunteers at a cat rescue. The shelter supervisor asks the two of you to clean out kennels and haul bags of cat food from the donation area to storage. You know from your last time volunteering that you can clean out 10 kennels in an hour or move 5 bags of cat food. Olivia can clean out 6 kennels in an hour or move 6 bags of cat food. Olivia suggests that you split the tasks equally. Answer the following questions to determine if Olivia is making the best decision.

a. Who has an absolute advantage in doing each task?

b. What are Olivia’s opportunity costs of doing each task?

c. What are your opportunity costs of doing each task?

d. Who has a comparative advantage in doing each task?

e. Who should do each task to minimize the amount of time you both spend?

f. Was Olivia’s suggestion the best possible way to allocate your time? Why or why not?