On planet Economus, the countries Blib and Flib can produce the amounts of string and rope indicated in the table below with one unit of land. The country of Blib has 20 units of land available while the country of Flib has 10 units of land. Does either country have an absolute advantage? Which country has a comparative advantage in string production? Which country has a comparative advantage in rope production? Is it possible for the two countries to benefit from trade?

With 20 units of land, Blib can produce 200 units of string, while Flib can produce 250 units of string with its 10 units of land. With 20 units of land, Blib can produce 400 units of rope, while Flib can only produce 100 units of rope with its 10 units of land. This implies that Blib has an absolute advantage in rope and Flib has an absolute advantage in string. Moreover, in Blib, the opportunity cost of string is 2 units of rope. In Flib, the opportunity cost of string is 0.4 units of rope. This implies that Flib has a comparative advantage in string production. In Flib, the opportunity cost of rope is 2.5 units of string. In Blib, the opportunity cost of rope is 0.5 units of string. This implies that Blib has a comparative advantage in rope production. Depending upon preferences of the two countries, free trade may be beneficial. For example, if Blibians were willing to exchange 1 rope for 1 string and Flibians were willing to exchange 1 string for 1 rope, both countries would be made better off by trade. As long as the cost of string in terms of rope is between , the countries would be better off by trading.