Comparative advantage

Japanese: 比較優位 - ひかくゆうい（英語表記）comparative advantage

Why do countries trade? Why does one country export cars and steel and import oil and iron ore? Ever since A. Smith and D. Ricardo, economists have attempted to answer this question in various ways, and this has been developed into the theory of the international division of labor. The idea of comparative advantage was first clearly stated by Ricardo, and has since become the central concept in the theory of the international division of labor. Each country is said to have a comparative advantage in goods that can be produced more cheaply domestically than in other countries, and conversely, a comparative disadvantage in goods that are more expensive domestically than in other countries.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

国々はなぜ貿易を行うのであろうか。ある国はなぜ自動車や鉄鋼を輸出し，石油や鉄鉱石を輸入するのであろうか。A.スミスやD.リカード以来，経済学者の間でこの疑問に答えようとする試みがさまざまな形でなされ，国際分業の理論として展開されてきた。比較優位という考えはリカードによって初めて明確に述べられ，以後国際分業の理論の中心概念となっている。各国は外国に比べて国内で割安に生産できる財に比較優位をもち，逆に他国に比べて国内で割高につく財に比較劣位をもつといわれる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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