Comparative and absolute advantage

Sean and Yvette are farmers. Each one owns a 20-acre plot of land. The following table shows the amount of barley and alfalfa each farmer can produce per year on a given acre. Each farmer chooses whether to devote all acres to producing barley or alfalfa or to produce barley on some of the land and alfalfa on the rest.

BarleyAlfalfa(Bushels per acre)(Bushels per acre)Sean147Yvette306

On the following graph, use the blue line (circle symbol) to plot Sean's production possibilities frontier (PPF), and use the purple line (diamond symbol) to plot Yvette's PPF.

Sean's PPF

Yvette's PPF

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ALFALFA (Bushels)

BARLEY (Bushels)

has an absolute advantage in the production of barley, and has an absolute advantage in the production of alfalfa.

Sean's opportunity cost of producing 1 bushel of alfalfa isbushels of barley, whereas Yvette's opportunity cost of producing 1 bushel of alfalfa isbushels of barley. Because Sean has a opportunity cost of producing alfalfa than Yvette, has a comparative advantage in the production of alfalfa, and has a comparative advantage in the production of barley.