N.

Gregory Mankiw

Principles of
Microeconomics Sixth Edition

3
Interdependence and the
Gains from Trade Premium
PowerPoint
Slides by
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Ron Cronovich
 In this chapter,
look for the answers to these questions:
• Why do people—and nations—choose to be
economically interdependent?
• How can trade make everyone better off?
• What is absolute advantage?
What is comparative advantage?
How are these concepts similar?
How are they different?

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
2
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Interdependence
Every day hair gel from
you rely on Cleveland, OH
many people
from around cell phone
from Taiwan
the world,
most of whom
dress shirt
you’ve never met,
from China
to provide you
with the goods
and services coffee from
Kenya
you enjoy.
 Interdependence
 One of the Ten Principles from Chapter 1:
Trade can make everyone better off.
 We now learn why people—and nations—
choose to be interdependent,
and how they can gain from trade.

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
4
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Our Example
 Two countries: the U.S. and Japan
 Two goods: computers and wheat
 One resource: labor, measured in hours
 We will look at how much of both goods
each country produces and consumes
 if the country chooses to be self-sufficient
 if it trades with the other country

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
5
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Production Possibilities in the U.S.
 The U.S. has 50,000 hours of labor
available for production, per month.
 Producing one computer
requires 100 hours of labor.
 Producing one ton of wheat
requires 10 hours of labor.

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
6
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The U.S. PPF
Wheat
(tons) The U.S. has enough labor
5,000 to produce 500 computers,
or 5000 tons of wheat,
4,000
or any combination along
3,000 the PPF.

2,000

1,000

Computers
0
100 200 300 400 500

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
7
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The U.S. Without Trade
Wheat
(tons)
Suppose the U.S. uses half its labor
5,000
to produce each of the two goods.
4,000 Then it will produce and consume
250 computers and
3,000 2500 tons of wheat.

2,000

1,000

Computers
0
100 200 300 400 500

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
8
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 ACTIVE LEARNING 1
Derive Japan’s PPF

Use the following information to draw Japan’s PPF.

 Japan has 30,000 hours of labor available for
production, per month.
 Producing one computer requires 125 hours of
labor.
 Producing one ton of wheat requires 25 hours
of labor.
Your graph should measure computers on the
horizontal axis.

© 2012 ©Cengage
2012 Cengage
Learning.Learning.
All Rights
AllReserved.
Rights Reserved.
May notMay
be copied,
not be copied,
scanned,scanned,
or duplicated,
or duplicated,
in wholeinorwhole
in part,
or in
except
part,for
except
use as
for use as
9
permitted
permitted
in a license
in a distributed
license distributed
with a certain
with a certain
productproduct
or service
or service
or otherwise
or otherwise
on a password-protected
on a password-protected
website website
for classroom
for classroom
use. use.
 Japan’s PPF

Wheat
(tons)
Japan has enough labor to
produce 240 computers,
2,000 or 1200 tons of wheat,
or any combination
along the PPF.
1,000

0 Computers
100 200 300
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
10
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Japan Without Trade

Wheat
(tons) Suppose Japan uses half its labor to
produce each good.
2,000 Then it will produce and consume
120 computers and
600 tons of wheat.
1,000

0 Computers
100 200 300
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
11
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Consumption With and Without Trade
 Without trade,
 U.S. consumers get 250 computers
and 2500 tons wheat.
 Japanese consumers get 120 computers
and 600 tons wheat.
 We will compare consumption without trade to
consumption with trade.
 First, we need to see how much of each good is
produced and traded by the two countries.

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
12
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 ACTIVE LEARNING 2
Production under trade

1. Suppose the U.S. produces 3400 tons of wheat.

How many computers would the U.S. be able
to produce with its remaining labor? Draw the
point representing this combination of
computers and wheat on the U.S. PPF.
2. Suppose Japan produces 240 computers.
How many tons of wheat would Japan be able
to produce with its remaining labor? Draw this
point on Japan’s PPF.

© 2012 ©Cengage
2012 Cengage
Learning.Learning.
All Rights
AllReserved.
Rights Reserved.
May notMay
be copied,
not be copied,
scanned,scanned,
or duplicated,
or duplicated,
in wholeinorwhole
in part,
or in
except
part,for
except
use as
for use as
13
permitted
permitted
in a license
in a distributed
license distributed
with a certain
with a certain
productproduct
or service
or service
or otherwise
or otherwise
on a password-protected
on a password-protected
website website
for classroom
for classroom
use. use.
 U.S. Production With Trade
Wheat
(tons)
5,000 Producing 3400 tons of wheat
requires 34,000 labor hours.
4,000
The remaining 16,000
3,000 labor hours are used to
produce 160 computers.
2,000

1,000

Computers
0
100 200 300 400 500

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
14
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Japan’s Production With Trade

Wheat Producing 240 computers

(tons) requires all of Japan’s 30,000
labor hours.
2,000
So, Japan would produce
0 tons of wheat.

1,000

0 Computers
100 200 300
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
15
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Exports & Imports
 Exports:
goods produced domestically and sold abroad
To export means to sell domestically produced
goods abroad.
 Imports:
goods produced abroad and sold domestically
To import means to purchase goods produced
in other countries.

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
16
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 ACTIVE LEARNING 3
Consumption under trade

Suppose the U.S. exports 700 tons of wheat to

Japan, and imports 110 computers from Japan.
(So, Japan imports 700 tons wheat and exports
110 computers.)
 How much of each good is consumed in the
U.S.? Plot this combination on the U.S. PPF.
 How much of each good is consumed in
Japan? Plot this combination on Japan’s PPF.

© 2012 ©Cengage
2012 Cengage
Learning.Learning.
All Rights
AllReserved.
Rights Reserved.
May notMay
be copied,
not be copied,
scanned,scanned,
or duplicated,
or duplicated,
in wholeinorwhole
in part,
or in
except
part,for
except
use as
for use as
17
permitted
permitted
in a license
in a distributed
license distributed
with a certain
with a certain
productproduct
or service
or service
or otherwise
or otherwise
on a password-protected
on a password-protected
website website
for classroom
for classroom
use. use.
 U.S. Consumption With Trade
Wheat
(tons) computers wheat
5,000 produced 160 3400
+ imported 110 0
4,000 – exported 0 700
= amount
3,000 270 2700
consumed
2,000

1,000

Computers
0
100 200 300 400 500

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
18
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Japan’s Consumption With Trade

computers wheat
Wheat produced 240 0
(tons)
+ imported 0 700
2,000 – exported 110 0
= amount
130 700
consumed

1,000

0 Computers
100 200 300
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
19
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Trade Makes Both Countries Better Off
U.S.
consumption consumption gains from
without trade with trade trade
computers 250 270 20
wheat 2500 2700 200
Japan
consumption consumption gains from
without trade with trade trade
computers 120 130 10
wheat 600 700 100
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
20
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Where Do These Gains Come From?
 Absolute advantage: the ability to produce a
good using fewer inputs than another producer
 The U.S. has an absolute advantage in wheat:
producing a ton of wheat uses 10 labor hours
in the U.S. vs. 25 in Japan.
 If each country has an absolute advantage
in one good and specializes in that good,
then both countries can gain from trade.

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
21
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Where Do These Gains Come From?
 Which country has an absolute advantage in
computers?
 Producing one computer requires
125 labor hours in Japan,
but only 100 in the U.S.
 The U.S. has an absolute advantage in both
goods!

So
So why
why does
does Japan
Japan specialize
specialize in computers?
Why
Why do
do both
both countries
countries gain
gain from
from trade?
trade?
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
22
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Two Measures of the Cost of a Good
 Two countries can gain from trade when each
specializes in the good it produces at lowest cost.
 Absolute advantage measures the cost of a good
in terms of the inputs required to produce it.
 Recall:
Another measure of cost is opportunity cost.
 In our example, the opportunity cost of a computer
is the amount of wheat that could be produced
using the labor needed to produce one computer.

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
23
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Opportunity Cost and
Comparative Advantage

 Comparative advantage: the ability to produce

a good at a lower opportunity cost than another
producer
 Which country has the comparative advantage
in computers?
 To answer this, must determine the opportunity
cost of a computer in each country.

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
24
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Opportunity Cost and
Comparative Advantage
 The opportunity cost of a computer is
 10 tons of wheat in the U.S., because
producing one computer requires 100 labor
hours,
which instead could produce 10 tons of wheat.
 5 tons of wheat in Japan, because producing
one computer requires 125 labor hours,
which instead could produce 5 tons of wheat.
 So, Japan has a comparative advantage in
computers. Lesson: Absolute advantage is not
necessary for comparative advantage! 25
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Comparative Advantage and Trade
 Gains from trade arise from comparative
advantage (differences in opportunity costs).
 When each country specializes in the good(s)
in which it has a comparative advantage,
total production in all countries is higher,
the world’s “economic pie” is bigger,
and all countries can gain from trade.
 The same applies to individual producers
(like the farmer and the rancher) specializing
in different goods and trading with each other.
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
26
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 ACTIVE LEARNING 4
Absolute and comparative advantage

Argentina and Brazil each have 10,000 hours of labor

per month.
In Argentina,
 producing one pound coffee requires 2 hours
 producing one bottle wine requires 4 hours
In Brazil,
 producing one pound coffee requires 1 hour
 producing one bottle wine requires 5 hours
Which country has an absolute advantage in the
production of coffee? Which country has a
comparative advantage in the production of wine?
© 2012 ©Cengage
2012 Cengage
Learning.Learning.
All Rights
AllReserved.
Rights Reserved.
May notMay
be copied,
not be copied,
scanned,scanned,
or duplicated,
or duplicated,
in wholeinorwhole
in part,
or in
except
part,for
except
use as
for use as
27
permitted
permitted
in a license
in a distributed
license distributed
with a certain
with a certain
productproduct
or service
or service
or otherwise
or otherwise
on a password-protected
on a password-protected
website website
for classroom
for classroom
use. use.
 ACTIVE LEARNING 4
Answers

Brazil has an absolute advantage in coffee:

 Producing a pound of coffee requires only one
labor-hour in Brazil, but two in Argentina.
Argentina has a comparative advantage in wine:
 Argentina’s opp. cost of wine is two pounds of
coffee, because the four labor-hours required
to produce a bottle of wine could instead
produce two pounds of coffee.
 Brazil’s opp. cost of wine is five pounds of
coffee.
© 2012 ©Cengage
2012 Cengage
Learning.Learning.
All Rights
AllReserved.
Rights Reserved.
May notMay
be copied,
not be copied,
scanned,scanned,
or duplicated,
or duplicated,
in wholeinorwhole
in part,
or in
except
part,for
except
use as
for use as
28
permitted
permitted
in a license
in a distributed
license distributed
with a certain
with a certain
productproduct
or service
or service
or otherwise
or otherwise
on a password-protected
on a password-protected
website website
for classroom
for classroom
use. use.
 Unanswered Questions…
 We made a lot of assumptions about the quantities
of each good that each country produces, trades,
and consumes, and the price at which the countries
trade wheat for computers.
 In the real world, these quantities and prices would
be determined by the preferences of consumers
and the technology and resources in both countries.

 We will begin to study this in the next chapter.

 For now, though, our goal was merely to see how
trade can make everyone better off.
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as
29
permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 S U M MA RY

• Interdependence and trade allow everyone to

enjoy a greater quantity and variety of goods &
services.
• Comparative advantage means being able to
produce a good at a lower opportunity cost.
Absolute advantage means being able to produce
a good with fewer inputs.
• When people—or countries—specialize in the
goods in which they have a comparative
advantage, the economic “pie” grows and trade
can make everyone better off.
© 2012 ©Cengage
2012 Cengage
Learning.Learning.
All Rights
AllReserved.
Rights Reserved.
May notMay
be copied,
not be copied,
scanned,scanned,
or duplicated,
or duplicated,
in wholeinorwhole
in part,
or in
except
part,for
except
use as
for use as
30
permitted
permitted
in a license
in a distributed
license distributed
with a certain
with a certain
productproduct
or service
or service
or otherwise
or otherwise
on a password-protected
on a password-protected
website website
for classroom
for classroom
use. use.