Chapters twenty and twenty-one went over the relationship of international markets in a global economy. In an increasingly interconnected world, global trade has caused countries to shift to specializations in their markets. Therefore, raising average wages due to increased productivity. Countries can have absolute or comparative advantages in a certain market. As written in the text, an example of absolute advantage would be Saudi Arabia in the oil industry. This is because they have such an abundance of easily assessable oil very few countries can complete in that market. A comparative advantage is when a country can produce a product at a much lower cost. Comparative advantage is a balance of opportunity cost that leads a nation to specialized in a specific market. Comparative advantage can also be gained through the exploitation of workers or practices that are severity destructive to the environment. To protect a nations cultural, economic, and social interest a country will use tariffs, import quotas, and non-tariff barriers to deter domestic companies from purchasing goods from counties who practice unpleasant or morally object able methods, such as child labor. Capitalism and the associated mind set has been the greatest motivation, yet becoming a set back, truly a double edge sword. Where Capitalism has pushed the US and companies to become the best and most powerful, it has taught Americas to achieve success at all cost, even the welfare of others. It is a known fact that workers are exploited in the making of US imports. Kristof and Wudunn speak of their personal experience in Thailand with the textile factories. They spoke to a father, Mongkal, who was proud that his 15 years old daughter had a job making products for the US, despite having a needle pierce her hand twice(2000). However, even with unsafe conditions, long hours, and comparatively low pay the people of Thailand view these jobs as great opportunities with no alternate choice. They fear the closure of such factories, as it would lead to unemployment and disparity. These factories provide thousands of workers with jobs in an area where jobs are scarce with not enough to go around. I believe that boycotting products
Define the concept of comparative advantage. How can a country gain or lose its comparative advantage in the production of a good?
Absolute Advantage:can make more of something than someone else 7. Comparative Advantage:how much you think someone is gonna make 8. Import:whats brought into a country 9. Export:whats shiped out of a country 10. Free trade:trade with no government intervention 11.
Rajeev Ravisankar is from Nepal. Nepal is low economic level so many people have to work at sweatshop. This is one of the cause why he write this essay. In Rajeev Ravisankar’s Lantern essay, “Sweatshop Oppression”, his said that many people choose or have to work at sweatshop, because they need to support their family. Otherwise, they may have no money to buy food (107). Lantern is a newspaper from Ohio State University, so the audiences are students or professors.
• The enormous surplus of labor in China imperils workers worldwide as international competition puts incessant downward pressure on wages and working conditions, leading the apparel and textile industries to favor the cheapest and most Draconian producers.
Absolute advantage is when a country produces more of a certain good and less of another good using the same amount of resources. Countries that practice this method are able to take advantage of an economic opportunity that allows them to work more efficiently. For example if two countries agree to import/export for maximum output it creates an absolute advantage to both parties. The U.S can produce more wheat than China, and China can turn around and produce more electronics than the U.S. This occurs because electronic products are cheaper and are now manufactured in China. The factories are bigger and work faster in terms of demand than those in the U.S. There are countries with environmental limitations and are not able to produce crops,
Absolute advantage is when an industry in a country can produce a product more than other countries with the same resources. Comparative advantage is when an industry in a country can make a product at a lower opportunity cost than other countries. Opportunity cost is when giving up the second best choice when making a decision.
In this article, journalist Nicholas Kristof gives his readers a look at what people from South and Eastern Asia think about the jobs working/living inside of a garbage dump compared to what they think of sweatshops. Also, Kristof explains how he actually encourages the production of more sweatshops. Since he has lived in in East Asia, his wife’s living standards have increased due to sweatshop jobs. Kristof continues to talk about how he does understand how Americans want to help out other countries and think that there should be labor standards, but he makes a good point about how labor standards and “living standards are the two biggest impacts on the cost of textiles, and companies are trying find a balance between these two. This makes
In his New York Times essay, “What Sweatshops Are a Dream,” writer Nicholas D. Kristof argues that the best way to help people who live in the poorest countries is not to campaign against sweatshops but instead promote manufacturing. (PA 109-111). Kristof’s opinion was influenced by the years he spent living in East Asia; he was able to personally observe how sweatshops affected people’s lives. His purpose was to inform the readers about the importance of sweatshops in other countries. Also, promoting manufacturing in sweatshops and how sweatshops can benefit the people and the economy.
Comparative advantage states that the division of labor should operate freely, without outside interference, because some countries, people, states, etc., have special advantages over the others, that allows them to produce certain goods more
Comparative and Absolute advantages: Comparative advantage is the ability to make or produce something at a lower opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is something that we do every single day in the way we live our lives. This is giving up something for something else. If you wanted to buy some new sports gear for your man cave it may cost $100, but if you only make $50 a week. You unfortunately would have to give up spending any of your money for two whole weeks to buy some of this new swag.
“Inside the factory, amid clattering machinery and clouds of sawdust, men without earplugs or protective goggles feed wood into screaming electric saws, making cabinets for stereo speakers” (Goodman and Pan 1). In the article Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart’s Low Prices by Peter Goodman and Philip Pan the mistreatment of the migrant workers in China is evident. These kinds of behaviors are taking place all over in China. The abuse of the Chinese work force has reached terrible proportions and created unlawful conditions because of the demanding economy of China, and other countries’ needs of the goods; however, the companies that are centered in China are working to make sure their workers are treated fairly.
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 principle of comparative advantage provides a simplified theory explaining why free trade is possible, even when one country has an economic disadvantage. Both the Ricardian and Heckscher-Ohlin theories rely on fixed economic assumptions of constant return and perfect competition. However, intuitively the basic principle of business is to increase returns through innovation, improving processes and technology or increasing economies of scale. Organizations understand they control pricing and are price setters, rather than price takers as suggested by perfect competition (Krugman & Obstfeld, 2003). The idea of increasing returns and imperfect competition challenge the foundations of comparative advantage.
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)
Worker exploitation has always been present in societies all over the world, but more specifically in third world countries as of late. Many of these major western companies, such as the fashion industry, take advantage of the cheap labor that is provided overseas. On one hand it’s beneficial for companies in an economic aspect to use labor overseas, but in a social aspect it’s very detrimental to these very same societies. These major companies essentially come into these individuals lives and take control of every aspect of it economically, socially, and psychologically. In fact, with such a rise in worker exploitation it has even been considered as a term for modern-day slavery.