What are the implications of this idea for the shape of the production possibilities frontier? A. The production possibilities frontier will be a straight line. B. The production possibilities frontier will be bowed inward. C. The production possibilities frontier will have a negative slope. D. The production possibilities frontier will be bowed outward. E. The production possibilities frontier will have a positive slope.

To determine the implications of the idea for the shape of the production possibilities frontier (PPF), we need to understand what the PPF represents. The PPF illustrates the maximum possible output combinations of two goods that an economy can achieve when all resources are fully and efficiently utilized. 1. **Straight Line (Option A)**: This would imply constant opportunity costs, meaning that resources can be transferred from the production of one good to another without any loss in efficiency. This is typically not realistic in most economies. 2. **Bowed Inward (Option B)**: This shape would suggest increasing opportunity costs as production shifts from one good to another, which is not a common representation of the PPF. 3. **Negative Slope (Option C)**: The PPF always has a negative slope, indicating that to produce more of one good, the economy must reduce the production of another good. However, this does not describe the shape of the curve. 4. **Bowed Outward (Option D)**: This is the most common representation of the PPF. It indicates increasing opportunity costs, meaning that as more resources are allocated to the production of one good, increasingly larger amounts of the other good must be sacrificed. This reflects the reality that resources are not perfectly adaptable to the production of both goods. 5. **Positive Slope (Option E)**: A positive slope would imply that increasing the production of one good would also increase the production of another good, which contradicts the basic principle of trade-offs in economics. Given this analysis, the correct implication for the shape of the production possibilities frontier is: **D. The production possibilities frontier will be bowed outward.** This reflects the concept of increasing opportunity costs in the allocation of resources between two goods.