is a country’s ability to produce a given product relatively more efficiently than another country.

Panera bread is a chain of cafes serving sandwiches, soups, and freshly baked breads. the company began in 1981 with stores primarily located along the east coast of the united states. since then, the firm has expanded to over 1,300 locations throughout the united states and canada. the firm has strong earnings and has been designated by business week as a "significant growth company." panera bread executives are considering the idea of expanding globally by opening cafes in asia through a franchising strategy. which of the following, if true, supports the argument that panera bread should expand into asia through franchising? a: the panera bread menu changes rapidly, and each cafe's artisan bread bakers receive regular training on new recipes. b: panera bread executives want fast access to the asian market without a significant investment of capital. c: panera bread executives want to test the asian market with a short-term commitment that allows them to make quick profits. d: the panera bread mission is to make excellent bread available to customers around the world.

Peppy roaney believes that pizza is a much more versatile dish than most people realize. as the national marketing manager for pizza guys, he observed how consumers were delighted with barbecue pizza, hawaiian pizza, mexican pizza and other unique combinations. his suggestions for other unusual pizzas, however, were met with a negative response by his superiors. even some of his colleagues laughed at his ideas. peppy's confidence in his ability to understand the market has led him to focus on planning a business of his own. peppy realizes that he will take a risk when he leaves his job with pizza guys and embarks upon a new venture: peppy's pizzazzeria. peppy is excited about the potential of profitably catering to the unmet desires of pizza consumers. peppy is confident that peppy's pizzazzeria will be a success, but only if he has enough money to do things right. since peppy has very little personal wealth, he knows he must obtain financial assistance. in order to prepare for meetings with bankers and p

Minneapolis federal reserve bank economist edward prescott estimates the elasticity of the u.s. labor supply to be 3. given this elasticity, what would be the impact of funding the social security program with tax increases on the number of hours worked and on the amount of taxes collected to fund social security?