Question

You just got a job in Washington, D.C. You move

into an apartment with some acquaintances. All your roommates, however, are slackers and do not clean up after themselves. You, on the other hand, can clean faster than each of them. You determine that you are 70% faster at dishes and 10% faster with vacuuming. All of these tasks have to be done daily. Which jobs should you assign to your roommates to get the most free time overall? Assume you have the same number of hours to devote to cleaning. Now, since you are faster, you seem to get done quicker than your roommate. What sorts of problems may this create? Can you imagine a trade-related analogy to this problem?

Short answer

This may be solved by analyzing comparative and absolute advantages.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Definition

Comparative advantage is defined as the capability of an economy to produce a good or service at a reduced opportunity cost as compared to its trading partners.

Absolute advantage is defined as the capability of an economy or an individual or a company to produce more quantity of goods and services with the same given number of inputs per unit of time or using less quantity.

Step 2. Explanation

In order to get the freest time, you have to wash the dishes yourself as you are faster than other roommates and should assign the task of vacuum cleaning to the roommate. This is because as compared to your roommates you have a more comparative advantage.

Your roommate is gaining more than himself because he has to make fewer efforts as compared to you. And if he is a nation, he is on the gaining side in this trade.