Question

Assume for the United States that the opportunity cost of each airplane is 50 cars. Which of these pairs of points could be on the United States' production possibilities frontier?a. (200 airplanes, 5,000 cars) and (150 airplanes, 4,000 cars)b. (200 airplanes, 12,500 cars) and (150 airplanes, 15,000 cars)c. (300 airplanes, 15,000 cars) and (200 airplanes, 25,000 cars)d. (300 airplanes, 25,000 cars) and (200 airplanes, 40,000 cars)

Answer 1

Answer: b. (200 airplanes, 12,500 cars) and (150 airplanes, 15,000 cars)

Explanation:

The opportunity cost of an airplane is 50 cars. This means that if the number of planes produced were reduced by 50, the number of cars should increase by:

= 50 * 50

= 2,500 cars.

In option B, the airplanes were 200 and then reduced by 50 to 150. This led to an increase in cars of:

= 15,000 - 12,500

= 2,500 cars

Option B therefore satisfies the constraints and is correct.