"If we look to the comparative advantage of any one country, we shall perceive that what it gains by trade is not wealth, but a superior distribution of industry."
— David Ricardo
If We Look To The Comparative
If we look to the comparative advantage of any one country, we shall perceive that what it gains by trade is not wealth, but a superior distribution of industry.
About this quote
From Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817), Chapter 7, "On Foreign Trade," in Ricardo's extended development of comparative advantage. Ricardo was clarifying that the benefit of trade is not that nations acquire more gold — the mercantilist goal — but that their productive resources are deployed more efficiently. The gains appear as increased output and consumption, not as a favorable trade balance.
Source
Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, Chapter 7 (1817)
