Archive for category Comparative Law
Short Essay on Comparative Advantage and Trade
Posted by admin in Comparative Law on October 1, 2011
The principle of free trade is based on the law of comparative advantage. The law of comparative advantage states that if countries specialise in producing what they have a relative advantage (lower opportunity cost) then there will be a net gain to society. This essay is an explanation of the difference between absolute and comparative advantage.
Absolute Advantage:
This occurs when one country can produce a good with fewer resources than another. For example if France can produce wine with less resources than the UK, then France should specialise in the production of wine.
· If the UK can produce wheat with less resources then it will have an absolute advantage.
· Therefore UK will specialise in wheat, and France in wine.
· Production will be maximised by each country specializing and then trading, both countries will gain
Comparative Advantage
A country has a comparative advantage over another in the production of a good if it can produce it at a lower opportunity cost. I.e. if it has to forego less of other goods in order to produce it.
· Thus trade between countries can still be beneficial even if one country can produce all goods with less resources. For example a developed country may have an absolute advantage in both computers and cloth. Read the rest of this entry »