If the production possibilities curve were a straight line sloping down from left to right, this would suggest that

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Question restatement: If the production possibilities curve were a straight line sloping down from left to right, this would suggest that

Options:
 a. the two products must have the same price.
 b. no factor of production has any particular comparative advantage over other resources.
 c. more of both goods could be produced moving along the curve.
 d. the economy is experiencing the law of increasing opportunity cost.
 e. the utility of the two goods must be equal to consumers.

Now, evaluate each option:

Option a: The price of the two products being the same is not implied by a straight-line PPC. Prices are determined by market demand and supply, not directly by the shape of the PPC. A straight line says something about opportunity costs, not about relative prices.

Option b: A straight-line PPC indicates constant opportunity cost of shifting resources between the two goods. This implies that the trade-off between the goods is proportional, and that resources can be reallocated without changing the rate at which one good must be given up to produce more of the other. In other words, there is no diminishing or increasing marginal opportunity cost, which aligns with the idea that no single resource has a changing comparative advantage over the other resources in terms of the production of the two goods.

Option c: More of both goods could be produced moving along the curve is not how PPCs typically work. Moving along the curve trades off production between goods; you can’t increase both outputs simultaneously along the curve in a feasible economy. A straight line would still depict a constant trade-off, not simultaneous gains in both goods.

Option d: The law of increasing opportunity cost (concave PPC) states that producing more of one good requires progressively more of the other good. A straight line implies constant opportunity cost, not increasing opportunity cost, so this option is inconsistent with the shape.

Option e: The utility of the two goods being equal to consumers is a statement about preferences and utility, not about the shape of the PPC. The PPC describes production constraints, while utility relates to satisfaction from consumption, which is separate from the production possibility frontier.

In summary, the straight-line (constant slope) PPC signifies constant opportunity costs between the two goods, meaning no single resource has a changing comparative advantage that would alter the trade-off as you shift resources between goods. This best matches the idea that no factor of production has any particular comparative advantage over other resources, making option b the most accurate interpretation of this scenario.

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If the production possibilities curve were a straight line sloping down from left to right, this would suggest that

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