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ComparativeAdvantageⅠ.IntroductionApersonhasacomparativeadvantageinanactivityifthatpersoncanperformtheactivityataloweropportunitycostthananyoneelse.Let’sexploretheideaofcomparativeadvantagebylookingatagardeningstory.Ⅱ.StudySupposeitisearlyspringanditistimetopreparethefamilybackyardgardenforthefirstplantingoftheyear.ThefatherinthehouseholdsetsasideoneSundayafternoontodothejobbuthopestocompletethejobasquicklyaspossible.Preparationofthegardenrequiresthefollowingtasks.First,thesoilmustbeturnedoverandbrokenupusingtheroto-tiller,thenthesoilmustberakedandsmoothed.Finally,seedsmustbeplantedorsowed.Thisyearthefather’s7-year-oldsonisanxioustohelp.Thequestionathandiswhetherthesonshouldbeallowedtohelpifone’sonlyobjectiveistocompletethetaskintheshortestamountoftimepossible.Atfirstthought,thefatherisreluctanttoaccepthelp.Clearlyeachtaskwouldtakethefatherlesstimetocompletethanthetimewouldtaketheson.Inotherwords,thefathercanperformeachtaskmoreefficientlythantheson.Thefatherestimatesthatitwilltakehim3hourstotaltopreparethegardenifheworksaloneandeachtaskneeds1hour,asshowninthefollowingtable.TaskTime(hours)Roto-tilling1Raking1Planting1Total3Onsecondthought,thefatherdecidestolethissonhelpaccordingtothefollowingprocedure.Firstthefatherbeginstheroto-tilling.Oncehehascompletedhalfofthegarden,thesonbeginsrakingtheroto-tilledsectionwhilethefatherfinishesroto-tillingtherestofthegardenplot.Afterthefatherfinishesroto-tillingthebeginsplantingseedsinthesectionthesonhasalreadyraked.Supposethesonrakesslowerthanthefatherplants,andthatthefathercompletesthesowingprocessjustasthesonfinishesraking.Notethisimpliesthatrakingtakesthesonalmost2hourscomparedtoonehourforthefather.However,becausetheson’sworkisdonesimultaneouslywiththefather’swork,itdoesnotaddtothetotaltimefortheproject.Underthisplanthetimeneededtocompletethetasksisonly2hours,asshowninthefollowingtable.TaskTime(hours)Roto-tilling1Raking&Planting1Total2Noticethatthetotaltimeneededtopreparethegardenhasfallenfrom3hoursto2hours.Itmakessensetoemploythesoninproductioneventhoughthesonislessefficientthanthedadineveryoneofthethreerequiredtasks.Overallefficiencyisenhancedwhenbothresources(thefatherandtheson)arefullyemployed.However,itisimportanttoallocatethetaskscorrectlybetweenthefatherandtheson.Supposethefatherallowedhissontodotheroto-tillinginstead,inthiscasethetimeneededforeachtaskmightlookasfollows.TaskTime(hours)Roto-tilling2Raking1Planting1Total4Thishighlightstheimportanceofspecializinginproductionofthetaskinwhichyouhaveacomparativeadvantage.Eventhoughthefathercancompleteallthreetasksquickerthanhisson,hisrelativeadvantageinroto-tillinggreatlyexceedshisadvantageinrakingandplanting.Onemightsaythatthefatherismist-bestatroto-tillingwhileheisleast-bestatrakingandplanting.Ontheotherhand,thesonisleast-worseatrakingandplantingbutmost-worseatroto-tilling.Finally,becauseofthesequentialnatureofthetasks,thesoncanremainfullyemployedonlyifheworksonthemiddletask,namelyraking.Ⅲ.ConclusionThegardenstoryoffersanintuitiveexplanationofcomparativeadvantage.Intoday’sworld,bydiscoveringyourcomparativeadvantage,youwillbeabletofocusonproducingtheitemsthatmakeyouaswelloffaspossible.Thinkhardaboutwhatyouehjoydoingandthatyoudocomparativelybetterthanothers.That,mostlikely,iswhereyourcomparativeadvantagelies.Itisgoodideatotrytoremainflexiblesothatyoucanswitchjobsifyoudiscoverthatyourcomparativeadvantagehaschanged.