Question

6. You are in charge of allocating residents to your dor- mitory's baseball and basketball teams. You are down to the last four people, two of whom must be allocated to baseball and two to basketball. The accompanying table gives each person's batting average and free- throw average. Name Kelley Jackie Curt Gerry Batting average 70% 50% 10% Free-throw average 60% 50% SO 80% 30% 70% a. Explain how you would use the concept of com- parative advantage to allocate the players. Begin by establishing each player's opportunity cost of free throws in terms of batting average. b. Why is it likely that the other basketball players will be unhappy about this arrangement but the other baseball players will be satisfied? Nonetheless, why would an economist say that this is an efficient to allocate players for your dormitory's sports y s sports teams?

Answer 1

Solution a. Let's begin by establishing the opportunity cost of free throws for each player : → If you allocate kelley to the basket ball team, then the team gains a player with a 60% free - throw average and the basket ball team loses a player with a 70%. batting Average. pie. (That is), The opportunity cost of allocating kelley to the basket ball team is. (. 70/60) - #6 Similaely, → Jackie's opportunity cost of playing basket ball is (50/50) 1;

continued..... 2 basket ball is (10130) ', Curts Gerry's opportunity opportunity cost cost of of playing playing - basket ball its Nous, Jackie and curt have the lowest opportunity costs of playing bastect ball ...) they have the comparative advantage in basket ball. Therefore , They They should should be allocated to the bastect ball team. Kelley and Gerry have the comparative advantage in Baseball and should therefore, play on the baseball team.

continued..... 3 (62 It is likely that the basket ball team will be unhappy with this arrangement. Both Jackie and curt have an absolute disadvantage at playing barket ball, compared to the other players (two). It means they also have an absolute disadvantage at playing base ball, but they are comparatively less bad at basketball than at baseball. The baseball team is likely to be happy about this allocation because both kelley and Gerry have an absolute advantage at playing baseball, However, It you are dormitory concerned with the total number of wins for the

continued.... 4 be concerned about who could an economist A refers as efficiency. Hence, This the over all allocation chances is of the best one: the dormitory It manimises winning at any sport.