Theories Of Comparative Advantage

Main protectionist policies include tariffs, quotas, embargos and voluntary export restraints, and Adam Smith’s idea of absolute advantage has been developed further to explain international trade. In recent years, protectionism has become closely related to globalization during which the influences of trades spread almost everywhere, so people insist upon the study of social deformities generated by improper policies on international trade and the task of pointing them out with a view to remedy. There are certainly both economic and political purposes of trade

Due to the differences between the countries in its profitable fundamentals; the International Trade occurs. The contracts between the countries consider as the primary driver of the global exchange. These contracts concluded on the basis of the countries beneficial elements and advantages. Each international trade between the countries depends on numerous focal points of this exchange process. The economics and producers effectiveness measured by absolute advantage for these economics/producers. For example; if the producer needs lesser amount of contributions/inputs to provide specific product, then this producer has an absolute advantage in producing

The evolutionary advantage theory proposes that symmetric individuals are attractive because they are particularly healthy, and the perceptual bias theory proposes that symmetric individuals are attractive because the human visual system can process symmetric stimuli of any kind more easily than it can process asymmetric

However, it was apparent to economists that nations with similar resource endowments exchanged similar products with each other. Economists felt that trade explained solely by comparative advantage was an incomplete analysis of international trade. Furthermore, since the classical trade theory was unable to explain intraindustry trade, economists decided to expand on the classical trade theory by creating a new theory of trade (Carbaugh, 2011). The new theory states that economies of scale provide incentive for a country to specialize in a particular product (Carbaugh, 2011). Furthermore, based on economies of scale, nations with similar factor endowments will trade with each other as sometimes it is beneficial (Carbaugh, 2011). Arguments stemming from this new trade theory puts the economic case for free trade in doubt.

Adam Smith was one of the major luminaries of the eighteenth century Scottish Enlightenment. His The Wealth of Nations became the bible of nineteenth century liberals, and twentieth century conservatives are similarly animated by his vision of the beneficent results of the free marketplace. Adam Smith had big ideas that included the “Invisible Hand, Trade, & The Division of Labor.” The invisible hand was to help correct the system by the laws that were governed for supply and demand so people can have self-interest. This idea was to help adjust prices and meet the needs of the market because of the invisible hand. The 2nd big idea was trade because whatever is applied to individual will be applied to the national because

From a political point of view, Smith wrote that Government intervention should be kept to a minimum within society. From a mercantilist point of view this was a terrible suggestion, however Smith argued that government intervention in markets will cause a limitation in productivity, and therefore not maximise efficiency. However if left alone as discussed in the previous paragraph, each party will seek to maximise its own prosperity within the given constraints, in turn maximising the

The neoclassical school of thought is said to be an evolution of the classical school of economic thought, which was originally proposed by Adam Smith in the 18th century. Price theory and the perfect competition model remain central to both schools of thought, however neoclassicism incorporates the additional ideas of utility, or perceived value, and marginalism, or the extra use gained from each incremental increase. As neoclassical economics is essentially determined by the utility on a consumer scale, it has come to be known as the study of microeconomics. (Neoclassical Economics)

The country can maximize their wealth by putting the resources in the most competitive industries. Government created comparative advantage rather than free trade because now easier moves the production processes and the machines into countries that can produce more goods (Yeager & Tuereck, 1984). However, many countries now move to new trade theory suggests the ability firms to limit the number of competitors associated with economic scale (reduction of costs with a large scale of output) (Krugman, 1992). The comparative advantage occurs when two-way trade in identical products, it will useful where economic scale is important, but it will create problem with this model. As a result, government must intervene in international trade for protection to domestic firms (Krugman, 1990)

Countries are enabled by free international trade to specialise or to focus in the production of the goods in which they have a comparative advantage. Specialisation countries can take the benefit of efficiencies generated from increased output and economies of trade. The size of the firm’s market are increased by the international trade which results in lower average costs and increasing in productivity, as it ultimately leads to increase in production.

The theory of comparative advantage explains the benefit of free trade. According to this theory by David Ricardo in the early 19th century, “Both countries will be better off if each specializes in the industry where it has a comparative advantage, and if the two trade with one another.” (Citation) International trade opens up markets to foreign supplier, and domestic companies need to improve their efficiency, boost productivity, and lower cost to increase competitiveness instead of enjoying monopolies or oligopolies that enabled them to keep prices well above marginal costs. On the other hand, international trade also offers domestic companies bigger demands and broader markets; therefore more jobs relevant to export have been created. Furthermore, jobs in the US supported by goods exports pay 13-18 percent more than the US national average (ustr.gov).

Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, shows support for free trade and emphasises it as a trade policy which ought to be adopted. Krugman and Obstfeld back Smith's support by stating that the efficiency of trade is increased by free trade and accumulates the national income of countries. Free trade is a theory which suggests that each nation benefits in specialising in an economic activity from which it gains absolute advantage, enjoying absolute superiority over other nations in a specif economical activity (Peng). With free trade follows opportunity, replacing regulation and growth of economic activity. (Rugmann and Collinson).

The new trade theory began to emerge in the 1970s when a number of economists pointed out that the ability of firms to attain economies of scale might have important implications for international trade (Wickramasekera, Cronk & Hill 2013). This theory is based on two major concepts that are economies of scale and first-mover advantage. To elaborate:

The concept of absolute advantage is one of the most fundamental areas of concern in the study of economics. In its basic meaning, absolute advantage refers to the ability of one individual or party to produce more of a particular good or service than other competitors given the same amount of resources. In this regard, absolute advantage becomes a very important aspect in the concept of international trade as it clearly defines the different areas where countries should specialize in order to maximize their productivity and enhance international trade. The principle of absolute advantage was first elucidated by Adam Smith in his study of international trade using labor and capital as the only factor inputs(Free, 2010).

Adam Smith outlined that the price mechanism in international trade is like an ‘invisible hand’ that coordinates the consumption and production decisions in a well-functioning market economy (Kerr and Gaisford 2007). However, there is need for the government to intervene in free market economies in order to implement trade regulations and avoid market failure that is associated with negative externalities. International trade is affected by government’s interventions that include direct participation in supply and purchase of essential goods and services, through regulation, taxation and other indirect participation influences. The free markets enhance market efficiency through ensuring that prices are determined by the

Increasing returns are the natural outcome of decreasing output costs and have external and internal factors which influence economies of scale (Ossa, n.d.). Economies of scale are influenced externally by industry size, rather than firm size and include