The Following Simple Two-Country Question Illustrates How Countries Are Made

question 60

Essay

The following simple two-country question illustrates how countries are made better off by trade in assets. Imagine that there are two countries, Home and Foreign, and that residents of each own only one asset, domestic land yielding an annual harvest of kiwi fruit. Assume that the yield on the land is uncertain. Half the time, Home's land yields a harvest of 100 tons of kiwi fruit at the same time as Foreign's land yields a harvest of 50 tons. The other half of the time the outcomes are reversed. The Foreign's harvest is 100 tons, but the Home harvest is only 50.
-Suppose the two countries can trade shares in the ownership of their perspective assets without any restrictions. Assume that the consumers in both countries would like to totally smooth their consumption. Describe the outcomes.

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Definitions:

Preparation Steps

The planned actions or tasks that are performed in order to prepare for an activity or process.

Joint Costs

Costs that are incurred in the process of producing two or more products simultaneously and cannot be directly assigned to a particular product.

Allocation

The process of distributing resources, costs, or revenues among various accounts, departments, or products based on specific criteria.

Indirect Salaries

Salaries for employees who do not directly work on the production of products or services but support those who do.