free international trade in goods and services

Question

Explain, how economic well-being of a country is improved through free international trade in the goods and services?

Answer 1

As per David Ricardo, along with the free international trade, it is beneficial for the two countries to each specialize in the construction of the goods which can be produced comparatively effectively and then trade these goods.  By doing this, two countries can enhance their joint production, that enable both the countries to consume more of both the goods.  This argument is valid even though a country may produce both the goods more effectively as compared to the other country.  International trade is not a ‘zero-sum’ game where one country benefits at the expense of other one. Instead, the international trade could be an ‘increasing-sum’ game where all players become winners.