Assignment 8 Notes
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There are two countries in the world, France and Germany, and both can use workers to produce either cheese
or bread.
o France can produce either a ton of cheese or a ton of bread with 3 workers.
o Germany can produce a ton of cheese with 6 workers and a ton of bread with 3 workers.
France has 120 workers;
Germany has 150 workers.
Initially, there is no trade between the two countries.
Absolute Advantage
Workers (L)
Germany:
150
France
120
Cheese
Bread
150 𝐿
= 𝟐𝟓 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔
6𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑛
120𝐿
= 𝟒𝟎 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔
3𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑛
150 𝐿
= 𝟓𝟎 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅
3𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑛
120𝐿
= 𝟒𝟎 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅
3𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑛
PPF: Production Possibilities Frontier
 Line representing the amount of production a country can have between two goods, assuming that it’s at a
maximum level of efficiency (capital being used efficiently, and Natural Rate of Unemployment)
 By knowing how much each country can make, we can create a linear function (y =mx+ b) to represent the PPF
 (Total Cost)*X + (Total Cost)*Y = Total Resources
 Y = mx + B
 Y = (slope)(X) + B
 2x+ 4y = 8
 X + 2y =4
 2y = 4 – x
 Y=2–½x
 The PPF is about opportunity cost and trade-offs.
o How many of each do you make?
o How much will you be giving up to make a ton (of whatever good you’re looking at)?
Solving these types of problems:
 These problems can be solved best by always conceptually understanding what’s going on
o Means having a graph off the PPFs
o Means understanding what input is required to make a ton of each good
 Put in terms of the other good (that you’re not solving for), in order to better compare them
 The relative cost of producing each good
 The relative price of each good in each country
 The opportunity cost of making each good
 What did you have to forego (in terms of producing the other good), in order to make a
ton of this good?
 How many tons of the other good could you make per 1 ton of this good?
 Ex: How much bread can Germany make per ton of cheese?
𝑇𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
 𝑇𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒 – gives us how much bread Germany can make per ton of cheese
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o
50
25
= 2 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑖𝑠 2 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
Means understanding what the relative output is of each good
 Rate of Production
 How much bread can you make for every ton of cheese?
Assignment 8
1. What is each country's cost of producing bread? Write the production possibilities frontier in the
form that shows the cost of producing each good.
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Relative prices are equal to the opportunity cost of production.
o If a positive amount of both goods are demanded, in equilibrium, the cost of purchasing a good must
equal the cost to produce the good.
Relative Price:
Comparative Cheese
Cost for 1 ton of Cheese
Bread
Cost for 1 ton of Bread
Relative Price
Advantage
Germany:
6L/ton 50 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 = 2 tons of bread 3L/ton 25 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒= ½ ton of cheese 2 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
25 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
50 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
1 𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
France
3L/ton 40 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 = 1 ton of bread 3L/ton 40 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒= 1 ton of cheese 1 𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
40 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
40 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
1 𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
1 ton of Bread, it cost ½ tons of cheese
1/2 B + 1C = 25
How much of other good for 1 ton of the good you’re focusing on
How much could Germany have produced instead of a ton of cheese? 2 tons of bread  Cost them 2 tons of bread to make a ton
of cheese
Germany: C =25 – ½ B
Y = 25 – ½ X
C + 1/2 B = 25
France: C = 40 - B
2. Draw the production possibilities frontier for each country. How much bread can France
produce if it produces 10 tons of cheese? How much bread can Germany produce if it produces
10 tons of cheese?
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The equation of a line  Y = y-intercept + (slope)X
𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑒
∆ 𝑖𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
o Slope
=
=how much cheese can you make instead of 1 ton of bread?
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The only reason it’s not the other way around is because I made cheese the y-intercept
Germany:
o y-intercept = max amount of cheese possible = 25
o Slope = how much cheese they could make instead of 1 ton of bread = ½
o PPF  C = 25 – ½ B
𝑅𝑢𝑛
Germany:
Y- intercept = 25
25
Slope = = .5
50
10= 25 -.5(B)
10= 25 – ½ *B
-15= - ½ B
B = 30
∆ 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
France:
Y-intercept = 40
Slope = 1
C = 40 - B.
B = 40 – 10
B = 30
Cheese
50
40
30
20
10
10
20
30
40
Germany:
(6 workers per ton)*(10 tons) = 60 workers
150L total – 60L for cheese = 90L for bread
90𝐿 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
= 𝟑𝟎 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅
3𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
50
Bread
France:
(3 workers per ton)*(10 tons) = 30 workers
120L total – 30L for cheese = 90L for bread
90𝐿 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
= 𝟑𝟎 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅
3𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
3. What is the opportunity cost of producing bread for each country?
First Question was finding how much of each goes into making 1 ton of initial good.
- Finding the Relative Input
Another Outlook  finding how much of the other good is made when we make 1 ton of initial good
- Finding the Relative Output
How much cheese is output per ton of the bread?
Rate of Production
Comparative
Advantage
Germany:
Cheese: Relative Output
6𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
25 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
50 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
France
Bread: Relative Output
40 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
40 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
1
= tons of cheese per bread
3𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
= 2 tons of bread per cheese
2
3𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
= 1 cheese per bread
3𝐿 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
= 1 ton of bread per cheese
PPF: In terms of Labor
Germany:
3B + 6B = 150
B + 2C = 50 - Same as B = 50 – 2C OR C = 25 – ½ B
France
3B + 3C = 120
B + C = 40
To find Opportunity Cost, ask simple question about each good:
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What do I have to give up to get 1 ton? Same shit as Relative Input/Costs
It’s always in terms of the other good  How much of the other good could you have made?
Comparative Advantage
Germany:
France
Cheese
2 tons of bread
1 ton of bread
Bread
.5 tons of cheese
1 ton of cheese
4. Suppose the relative price is 1.25 tons of cheese for 1 ton of bread. Are they willing to trade? If
so, who exports bread? Who exports cheese? Assuming they do specialize and trade, draw the
new PPF under trade for each country
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1.25 tons of cheese = 1 ton of bread  Value
Bread is more expensive than C
With PPF, we’re talking about quantity
Amount of bread will be less than cheese
1.25*(Quantity of Bread) = Quantity of Cheese
1
1.25B = 1.25 𝐶
B = .8C  the exact same thing as 1.25B = C
Opportunity Cost:
o France: 1C = 1B  Relative Cost is 1 ton of B for 1 ton of Cheese
o They want to get cheese or read more efficiently
Opportunity Cost
Comparative Advantage
Germany:
France
Cheese
2 tons of bread
1 ton of bread
Bread
.5 tons of cheese
1 ton of cheese
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Comparative Advantage:
o France can make cheese more efficiently than Germany
o Germany can make Bread more efficiently than France
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If Germany can make ½ ton of Cheese for 1 bread
o They want to be able to get more Cheese for bread
o They want it to be higher than .5
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Germany will trade at any rate less than 2 Bread for 1 cheese
France can make 1 bread for 1 cheese
o So they’ll trade between 1 and 2
France
1B <C < 2B
Germany
.5C < B < 1
 exact same thing
Germany will trade Bread at any rate between .5 tons of cheese and 1 ton of cheese (what France makes it at)
Rate of Cheese
.75
1
1.25
France:
Germany:
What’s the trade rate?
#4.) B =1.25C  C = .8B
NO TRADE
#5.) 1C = 1.25B  B = .8C
TRADE AT THAT RATE
1.5
1.75
2
2.25
5. Suppose the relative price is 1.25 tons of bread for 1 ton of cheese. Are they willing to trade? If
so, who exports bread? Who exports cheese? Assuming they do specialize and trade, draw the
new PPF under trade for each country.
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1.25 tons of bread traded for 1 ton of cheese
Value of 1 ton of Cheese > Value of 1 ton of Bread
(Amount of Cheese)*1.25 = Amount of Bread
B = 1.25C  C = .8B
Comparative
Advantage
Germany:
Cheese: Relative Output
2 tons of bread per cheese > 1.25
25 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
50 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
40 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒
France
Bread: Relative Output
40 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
1
= <.8
2
1 ton of bread per cheese < 1.25
= 1 > .8
Better than trading 1 for 1
Comparative Advantage
Max Cheese
Max Bread
Germany:
Produced 50 tons of bread…
Traded 50 bread for:
40 tons of cheese
50 tons
France
40 tons
Produced 40 tons of cheese
Traded 40 cheese for:
50 tons of bread
Cheese
50
40
30
20
10
10
20
30
40
50
Bread
6. Suppose the price of bread in both countries is $1000/ton. Before the Treaty of Rome (meaning
with no trade), what is the price of 1 ton of cheese in France? What is the price in Germany?
Germany: Price of Bread = $1000/ton
 25 tons of cheese = 50 tons of bread
o There is half as much so it will be twice as expensive
 Input to make cheese = relative price of producing cheese
o Input to make Cheese = 2 tons of Bread  $2000
France: Price of Bread = $1000
Input to make Cheese = 1 ton of Bread  $1000
7. Suppose that after the Treaty of Rome (with trade) the price of bread remains at $1000/ton.
What would be the price of cheese under the relative price in Question 4? How about under the
relative price of Question 5?
[Hint: If a country refuses to trade its price under trade is the same as under autarchy.]
a.) 1 ton of Bread = 1.25 tons of Cheese
Value  1.25B = C
1.25*($1000)
C= $1250  more expensive for France
C= $1,000 for France  they don’t trade
C = $2,000 for Germany
b.) 1 ton of cheese = 1.25 tons of bread
Value  1.25C = B  C= .8B
$1000 = 1.25C
C = $800
8. Suppose that before trade France produced 30 tons of bread and 10 tons of cheese. Assuming
all workers are paid the same wage and labor is the only input of production, what is the
nominal wage before trade? What is the nominal wage after trade?
𝐺𝐷𝑃
Nominal Wage = # 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟𝑠
120 Workers get same wage
France: B = 30, C = 10
a.) Before Trade
Step i.) Find Labor for each
B  3L  90L
C  3L  30L
Labor for Cheese
1/3LC = 10
LC = 30
Labor for Bread
1/3LB = 30
LB= 90
Step ii.) Nominal GDP
Nominal GDP = (𝑃C)*C + (PB)*B
Total Cost*Cheese + Total Cost* Bread= Total Resources (Nominal GDP)
Nominal GDP = 30*1000 + 10*1000
= $30,000 + $10,000 = $40,000
Step iii.) Nominal Wages
Nominal Wages =
$40,000
=
120
$333 per worker
b.) After Trade
Scenario 1:
Value of 1 ton of bread = Value of 1.25 tons of cheese
C = 1.25B
Price of Bread = $1000
Price of Cheese to trade = $1,250
Price of Cheese to produce = $1,000
France doesn’t trade
Scenario 2:
1 ton of cheese = 1.25 tons of bread
B = 1.25C  .8B = C
Price of bread to Produce = $1000
Trade
Rate
Price of Cheese
France
Sell 1 B for
1.25C
$800
Value of 10C
$800* 10 tons=
$8000
Value of 30B
Total Value of
30B and 10C
Wages
$30,000
$38,000
Wages =
$𝟑𝟖,𝟎𝟎𝟎
𝟏𝟐𝟎
= $𝟑𝟏𝟕
𝟑𝟎
𝟏𝟎
9. Suppose that the average French consumer buys 𝟏𝟐𝟎 tons of bread and 𝟏𝟐𝟎 tons of cheese.
(This is 500 pounds of bread and 166.66 pounds of cheese. The French love their bread and cheese…)
Assuming the year before trade is the base year, what is France's real wage before and after
trade?

CPI: Consumer Price index (that we can solve for)
o Used to measure inflation vs a base year of 100
o Let’s assume that the CPI before trade = 100
o Therefore, wages are still $333

CPI = 100*𝑁𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐺𝐷𝑃 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒

Inflation =


Nominal GDP before trade = $40,000
Nominal GDP after trade = $32,000
𝑁𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐺𝐷𝑃 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒
𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝐶𝑃𝐼−𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑃𝐼 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐶𝑃𝐼
=
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑃𝐼
100
38,000
CPI = 40,000 ∗ 100 =(.95)100 = 95
𝑁𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠
𝐶𝑃𝐼
Real Wages =
$316.67
∗ 100
95
∗ 100
= $333  the deflation (-5% inflation) meant that the $316.67 wages after trade had the same value as
the $333 wages before trade opened up