Suppose the United States is currently producing 100 tons of hamburgers and 45 tons of tacos and Mexico is currently producing 10 tons of hamburgers 25 tons of tacos. If the United States and Mexico each specialize in producing only one good (the good for which each has a comparative advantage), th total of \( \square \) additional ton(s) of hamburgers can be produced for the two countries combined (enter a numeric response using an integer)

To determine the additional tons of hamburgers that can be produced when the United States and Mexico specialize based on their comparative advantages, we'll follow these steps: ### 1. **Determine Comparative Advantage** **United States:** - **Current Production:** 100 tons of hamburgers and 45 tons of tacos. - **Opportunity Cost:** - 1 hamburger = 45/100 = 0.45 tacos - 1 taco = 100/45 ≈ 2.22 hamburgers **Mexico:** - **Current Production:** 10 tons of hamburgers and 25 tons of tacos. - **Opportunity Cost:** - 1 hamburger = 25/10 = 2.5 tacos - 1 taco = 10/25 = 0.4 hamburgers **Comparative Advantage:** - **United States:** Lower opportunity cost in producing **hamburgers** (0.45 tacos vs. 2.5 tacos in Mexico). - **Mexico:** Lower opportunity cost in producing **tacos** (0.4 hamburgers vs. 2.22 hamburgers in the U.S.). ### 2. **Specialization Based on Comparative Advantage** **United States (Hamburgers Only):** - **Current Hamburger Production:** 100 tons - **Resources Freed from Tacos:** 45 tons of tacos - **Additional Hamburgers Produced:** \[ 45 \text{ tons of tacos} \times \frac{2.22 \text{ hamburgers}}{1 \text{ taco}} = 100 \text{ additional tons of hamburgers} \] - **Total Hamburgers After Specialization:** \[ 100 + 100 = 200 \text{ tons} \] **Mexico (Tacos Only):** - **Current Taco Production:** 25 tons - **Resources Freed from Hamburgers:** 10 tons of hamburgers - **Additional Tacos Produced:** \[ 10 \text{ tons of hamburgers} \times \frac{1 \text{ taco}}{0.4 \text{ hamburgers}} = 25 \text{ additional tons of tacos} \] - **Total Tacos After Specialization:** \[ 25 + 25 = 50 \text{ tons} \] *However, since Mexico was already producing at 25 tons of tacos, and after specialization, it can produce a total of 50 tons by reallocating resources from hamburgers.* ### 3. **Calculate the Additional Hamburgers** - **Initial Total Hamburgers:** \[ 100 \text{ (U.S.)} + 10 \text{ (Mexico)} = 110 \text{ tons} \] - **After Specialization Total Hamburgers:** \[ 200 \text{ (U.S.)} + 0 \text{ (Mexico)} = 200 \text{ tons} \] - **Additional Hamburgers Produced:** \[ 200 - 110 = 90 \text{ tons} \] ### **Final Answer** **90**