Frank A. Wolak is a professor of economics and director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University. Updated January 19, 2011, 11:01 PM A basic economic theory of ...

Troy Segal is an editor and writer. She has 20+ years of experience covering personal finance, wealth management, and business news. Absolute and comparative advantage are economic concepts that help ...

David Ricardo, a Scottish economist, made a perceptive observation that a few individuals, firms, or countries can gain from trading, even if one of them is objectively the best in all activities.

In the early 19th century David Ricardo formulated the principle of comparative advantage to explain mutual gains from trade among countries. He based it on a critical assumption: that capital did not ...

David Ricardo published "On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation" on April 19 1817. This is the work that described the principle of comparative advantage and thus explained to us all why ...

In textbook economics, trade is a win-win: Two countries trade freely based on comparative advantage and share the resulting gains, improving welfare in both countries. America’s trade with China is ...

Alexandra Twin has 15+ years of experience as an editor and writer, covering financial news for public and private companies. Robert Kelly is managing director of XTS Energy LLC, and has more than ...

Martin Richardson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...