Final answer:
To gain from trade, France needs to trade where the opportunity cost is lower for the goods involved, exchanging fewer goods they can produce easily for goods that are more costly for them to make. The United States, having an absolute advantage in producing shoes and refrigerators, would benefit from specializing in these goods compared to Mexico, which should focus on goods where it has a comparative advantage.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering international trade and production, it's important to understand the concept of opportunity cost. The original question asked whether the price of 1 bag of fries is 2 hamburgers if a country's workers can produce 5 hamburgers per hour or 10 bags of French fries per hour. From this, the opportunity cost of one bag of fries is half a hamburger (since you can produce 5 hamburgers or 10 bags of fries in the same time).
To gain from trade, France would have to consider its own opportunity costs for producing different goods such as tomatoes and green beans. For example, if France can produce 100 tomatoes or 200 green beans with a set amount of resources, the opportunity cost of one tomato is two green beans. To gain from trade, France would look to trade with a country where the opportunity cost of tomatoes is lower, meaning it would 'give up' fewer green beans for each tomato traded. This is a simplification, and real-world scenarios require more complex analysis considering market prices, demand, and other economic factors.
Similarly, when considering production between the United States and Mexico, we look at absolute advantage. The United States has an absolute advantage in making both shoes and refrigerators when compared to Mexico, because it requires fewer workers in the U.S. to produce the same amount of goods as in Mexico. Therefore, it would be efficient for the U.S. to specialize in these products and for Mexico to specialize in other goods where it may have a comparative advantage.