Absolute advantage

Origin of the theory

The concept of absolute advantage is generally attributed to the Scottish economist Adam Smith in his 1776 publication The Wealth of Nations, in which he countered mercantilist ideas. Smith argued that it was impossible for all nations to become rich simultaneously by following mercantilism because the export of one nation is another nation's import and instead stated that all nations would gain simultaneously if they practiced free trade and specialized in accordance with their absolute advantage. Smith also stated that the wealth of nations depends upon the goods and services available to their citizens, rather than their gold reserves.

Because Smith only focused on comparing labor productivities to determine absolute advantage, he did not develop the concept of comparative advantage. While there are possible gains from trade with absolute advantage, the gains may not be mutually beneficial. Comparative advantage focuses on the range of possible mutually beneficial exchanges.

Examples

Example 1

According to Figure 1, the UK commits 80 hours of labor to produce one unit of cloth, which is fewer than Portugal's hours of work necessary to produce one unit of cloth. The UK is able to produce one unit of cloth with fewer hours of labor, therefore the UK has an absolute advantage in the production of cloth. On the other hand, Portugal commits 90 hours to produce one unit of wine, which is fewer than the UK's hours of work necessary to produce one unit of wine. Therefore, Portugal has an absolute advantage in the production of wine.

If the two countries specialize in producing the good for which they have the absolute advantage, and if they exchange part of the good with each other, both of the two countries can end up with more of each good than they would have in the absence of trade.{{citation

Example 2

You and your friends decided to help with fundraising for a local charity group by printing T-shirts and making birdhouses.

• Scenario 1: One of your friends, Gina, can print 5 T-shirts or build 3 birdhouses an hour. Your other friend, Mike, can print 3 T-shirts an hour or build 2 birdhouses an hour. Because your friend Gina is more productive at printing T-shirts and building birdhouses compared to Mike, she has an absolute advantage in both printing T-shirts and building birdhouses.
• Scenario 2: Suppose Gina wasn't as agile with the hammer and could only make 1 birdhouse an hour, but she took a screen printing class and could print 10 T-shirts an hour. Mike on the other hand takes woodworking and so he can build 5 birdhouses an hour, but he doesn't know the first thing about making T-shirts so he can only print 2 T-shirts an hour. While Gina would have the absolute advantage in printing shirts, Mike would have an absolute advantage in building birdhouses.

References

References

1. (2023-06-08). "Absolute Advantage".
2. "Absolute advantage {{!}} economics".
3. "Absolute and Comparative Advantage".
4. "International Trade: Theory and Policy".
5. Harrington, James W.. "International Trade Theory". University of Washington.