| Running head: Production possibility frontier | | | | Efficient and inefficient production: |
| Name: | | | | The diagram below shows the possibility |
| University: | | | | production frontier of hats and boots: |
| Course: | | | | From the diagram above production point A |
| Instructor: | | | | depicts efficient production; point B shows |
| Date: | | | | inefficient production while point C cannot be |
| Production possibility frontier: | | | | achieved with the current resources. |
| The production possibility curve is a curve that | | | | Opportunity cost: |
| represents the number of two different goods | | | | This section discusses the opportunity cost of |
| that can be produced given certain resource, | | | | producing one extra boot, given that the current |
| (Hardwick, 2002) in this case the economic | | | | production is at 1500 boots and 2500 hats, then |
| resource is labour hours, the maximum number of | | | | producing one extra boot will yield the following |
| labour hours is 75,000 per week, the number of | | | | results: |
| hours spent makings cowboy boots is 25 hours | | | | Boots = 1500 + 1 = 1501 |
| whereas making a cowboy hat is 15 hats | | | | Number of hours on boots = 1501 X 25 hours = |
| Therefore provided information is as follows: | | | | 37525 hours |
| 75,000 hours per week making boots and hats | | | | Remaining labour hours = 75000 – 37525 = |
| Cowboy boots = 25 hours | | | | 37475 |
| Cowboy hat = 15 hours | | | | Number of hats that can be produced = 37475 |
| The maximum number of boots that can be | | | | 15 = 2498.333 |
| produced in one week is calculated as follows: | | | | Change in the number of hats = 2500 - 2498.333 |
| Maximum Boots =75000/ 25 = 3000 boots | | | | = 1.666667 |
| The maximum number of hats that can produce | | | | Therefore the opportunity cost of producing one |
| in one week is calculated as follows: | | | | boot is 1.6667 hats. |
| Maximum hats =75000/ 15 = 5000hats | | | | Increased resources: |
| Using excel we calculate the number of hats and | | | | If resources increase whereby labour hours |
| boots that will be produced, the following table | | | | increase to 95000 then the number of hats and |
| summarises the results:bootsboot hours | | | | boots that can be produced increases, |
| (number of boots X 25)maximum hoursremaining | | | | The following table summarises the results of an |
| hours after boots are made | | | | increase in labour hours from 75000 to 95000: |
| (maximum hours -(number of boots X | | | | The maximum number of boots that can be |
| 25))number of hats with remaining hours | | | | produced in one week is calculated as follows: |
| (remaining hours/15) | | | | Maximum Boots =90000/ 25 = 3600 boots |
| 0 | | | | The maximum number of hats that can produce |
| 0 | | | | in one week is calculated as follows: |
| 75000 | | | | Maximum hats =90000/ 15 = 6000hats |
| 75000 | | | | The table below shows the combinations of the |
| 5000 | | | | number of hats and boots that can be |
| 500 | | | | produced:bootsboot hoursmaximum |
| 12500 | | | | hoursremaining hours after boots are |
| 75000 | | | | madenumber of hats with remaining hours |
| 62500 | | | | 0 |
| 4166.667 | | | | 0 |
| 1000 | | | | 90000 |
| 25000 | | | | 90000 |
| 75000 | | | | 6000 |
| 50000 | | | | 500 |
| 3333.333 | | | | 12500 |
| 1500 | | | | 90000 |
| 37500 | | | | 77500 |
| 75000 | | | | 5166.66667 |
| 37500 | | | | 1000 |
| 2500 | | | | 25000 |
| 2000 | | | | 90000 |
| 50000 | | | | 65000 |
| 75000 | | | | 4333.33333 |
| 25000 | | | | 1500 |
| 1666.667 | | | | 37500 |
| 2500 | | | | 90000 |
| 62500 | | | | 52500 |
| 75000 | | | | 3500 |
| 12500 | | | | 2000 |
| 833.3333 | | | | 50000 |
| 3000 | | | | 90000 |
| 75000 | | | | 40000 |
| 75000 | | | | 2666.66667 |
| 0 | | | | 2500 |
| 0 | | | | 62500 |
| The following table summarises the number of | | | | 90000 |
| boots and hats that can be produced:number of | | | | 27500 |
| bootsnumber of hats | | | | 1833.33333 |
| 0 | | | | 3000 |
| 5000 | | | | 75000 |
| 500 | | | | 90000 |
| 4166.666667 | | | | 15000 |
| 1000 | | | | 1000 |
| 3333.333333 | | | | 3600 |
| 1500 | | | | 90000 |
| 2500 | | | | 90000 |
| 2000 | | | | 0 |
| 1666.666667 | | | | 0 |
| 2500 | | | | The production possibility curve shifts upwards as |
| 833.3333333 | | | | follows: |
| 3000 | | | | From the chart the new frontier results from an |
| 0 | | | | increase in resources, therefore the point c which |
| Using the above data the production possibility | | | | was previously not achievable can not be |
| frontier will be as follows, the diagram was | | | | achieved with the increase in labour hours. |
| created using excel | | | | |