Comparative Advantage Essay

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Comparative Advantage vs. Absolute Advantage The theory of comparative advantage was introduced in 1815 by David Ricardo. Ricardo’s theory superseded Adam Smith’s theory of absolute advantage, which suggested that if a country can provide a commodity at a cheaper price then it should be bought instead of producing it locally. Comparative advantage suggests that international trade was not governed by absolute advantage in price. A country can still gain from trading certain goods even though other countries can produce the same products more efficient and cheaply, using this principle. The comparative advantage comes if each country has a product that will bring a better price in another country than it will at home. Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage has been well accepted by economist for two centuries; however, it is starting to face criticisms and its applicability to the new economy. Imagine that there are two people living on an island, Phillip and Shirley. There are two goods that are needed to be gathered: Phillip has an absolute advantage in the gathering of both goods, able to gather more of product A than Shirley and more of product B then her also. Their gathering capabilities are summarized in the following table. Output Alternatives Product A (bushels) Product B (bushels) Phillip 20 20 Shirley 8 16 The numbers in the above table specify the maximum number of one product that could be gathered assuming that the individual gathers none of the other product. For instance, if Phillip decided to collect 20 bushels of Product A, then he would not be able to collect any bushels of Product B. Correspondingly, if Shirley decided to gather 16 bushels of Product B, then she would not be able to collect any bushels of Product A. The information represents the endpoints of each individual’s production possibility. If Phillip

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