Absolute cost advantage vs complele cost advantage
Answers
Though it is not economically feasible for a country to import all of the food needed to sustain its population, the types of food a country produces can largely be affected by the climate, topography and politics of the region. Spain, for example, is better at producing fruit than Iceland. The differentiation between the varying abilities of nations to produce goods efficiently is the basis for the concept of absolute advantage.
If Japan and the United States can both produce cars, but Japan can produce cars of a higher quality at a faster rate, then it is said to have an absolute advantage in the auto industry. A country's absolute advantage or disadvantage in a particular industry plays a crucial role in the types of goods it chooses to produce. In this example, the U.S. may be better served to devote resources and manpower to another industry in which it has the absolute advantage, rather than trying to compete with the more efficient Japan.
Comparative Advantage
The focus on the production of those goods for which a nation's resources are best suited is called specialization. When economists refer to specialization, they mean the increase in productive skill that is achieved from focused repetition in producing a good or service. A country specializes when its citizens or firms concentrate their labor efforts on a relatively limited variety of goods. Historically, specialization arose as a result of different cultural preferences and natural resources.
Given limited resources, a nation's choice to specialize in the production of a particular good is also largely influenced by its comparative advantage. Whereas absolute advantage refers to the superior production capabilities of one nation versus another, comparative advantage is based on the concept of opportunity cost. The opportunity cost of a given option is equal to the forfeited benefits that could have been gained by choosing the alternative. If the opportunity cost of choosing to produce a particular good is lower for one nation than for others, then that nation is said to have a comparative advantage.