In explaining and illustrating the principle of comparative advantage, this chapter compared the production possibilities for two countries, A and B, with and without being able to trade with each other. The student will notice that, although the potential total output in Country B was larger than in Country A

(compare Figures 16.1 and 16.2), the discussion did not specify the population in each country. Would it matter to the analysis of comparative advantage whether Country B’s population was (a)

equal in size to that of Country Aor

(b) 10 times as large as that of Country A (therefore making Country B much poorer on a per-capita basis than A)? Explain.