Absolute advantage and comparative advantage of trade

The capability to produce more of a given product using less of a given resource than a competing entity. Absolute advantage and comparative advantage of trade Absolute advantage refers to the ability of a country to produce a good more efficiently than other countries. In other words, a country that has an absolute advantage can produce a good with lower marginal cost (fewer materials, cheaper materials, in less time, with fewer workers, with cheaper workers, etc.). Absolute advantage differs from comparative advantage, which refers to the ability of a country to produce specific goods at a lower opportunity cost. A country with an absolute advantage can sell the good for less than a country that does not have the absolute advantage. Absolute advantage and comparative advantage of trade For example, the Canadian economy, which is rich in low cost land, has an absolute advantage in agricultural production relative to some other countries. China and other Asian economies export low-cost manufactured goods, which take advantage of their much lower unit labor costs.

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If the economy is operating below the curve, it is operating inefficiently, because resources could be reallocated in order to produce more of one or both goods without decreasing the quantity of either. Absolute advantage and comparative advantage of trade Points outside the curve are unattainable with existing resources and technology if trade does not occur with an outside producer.

The PPF will shift outwards if more inputs (such as capital or labor ) become available or if technological progress makes it possible to produce more output with the same level of inputs.  Absolute advantage and comparative advantage of trade An outward shift means that more of one or both outputs can be produced without sacrificing the output of either good. Conversely, the PPF will shift inward if the labor force shrinks, the supply of raw materials is depleted, or a natural disaster decreases the stock of physical capital.

Without trade, each country consumes only what it produces. In this instance, the production possibilities frontier is also the consumption possibilities frontier. Trade enables consumption outside the production possibility frontier. Absolute advantage and comparative advantage of trade The world PPF is made up by combining countries’ PPFs. When countries’ autarkic productions are added (when there is no trade), the total quantity of each good produced and consumed is less than the world’s PPF under free trade (when nations specialize according to their comparative advantage). This shows that in a free trade system, the absolute quantity of goods available for consumption is higher than the quantity available under autarky.

Absolute advantage refers to the ability of a country to produce a good more efficiently than other countries. In other words, a country that has an absolute advantage can produce a good with lower marginal cost (fewer materials, cheaper materials, in less time, with fewer workers, with cheaper workers, etc.). Absolute advantage and comparative advantage of trade Absolute advantage differs from comparative advantage, which refers to the ability of a country to produce specific goods at a lower opportunity cost.

A country with an absolute advantage can sell the good for less than a country that does not have the absolute advantage. Absolute advantage and comparative advantage of trade For example, the Canadian economy, which is rich in low cost land, has an absolute advantage in agricultural production relative to some other countries. China and other Asian economies export low-cost manufactured goods, which take advantage of their much lower unit labor costs.

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