ricardo didn't defeat the goliath that is capitalist hegemony rip

Question 1

law of comparative advantage

Answer 1

countries should specialize in whatever makes them give up the least (lowest opportunity cost)

Question 2

corn laws

Answer 2

tariffs/trade restrictions on imported food and corn in the UK (1815-1846)

Question 3

ricardo’s take on corn laws

Answer 3

blocking cheap grain imports injured workers/hampered their employers
- protectionists forget that jobs are created by selling goods and services to other countries

Question 4

why was ricardo an enemy of upper class

Answer 4

he said that “interest of the landlords is always opposed to the interest of every other class in the community”

Question 5

what was abrahamn lincoln’s take on protectionism and why

Answer 5

liked it, didn’t understand tariffs lowkey, “would rather america have the money than the uk”

Question 6

strategic trade theory

Answer 6

companies gain economies of scale by specializing –> lowered costs
- consolidation of markets, sometimes with help of government

Question 7

why did ricardo disagaree with smith

Answer 7

smith –> constant returns to agriculture, increasing returns to industry
ricardo –> decreasing returns to agriculture, constant returns to industry

Question 8

what was ricardo’s path to scare politicians into more laissez faire policies, accepting malthus’s population principles

Answer 8

• increasing population leads to a higher demand for food
• extending farming to less fertile lands
• higher costs in farming
• higher prices for food
• paying workers more
• lower profits for entrepreneurs
• higher payments to those who own the best lands

Question 10

why did ricardo oppose the poor laws

Answer 10

ultimately brought hunger, insisting that “every friend to the poor must ardently wish for their abolition”

Question 11

what was economic rent

Answer 11

“a payment beyond what is necessary to keep land or labor or capital in its present use”

Question 12

problems with a massive tax on land to absorb rents

Answer 12

• distinction between economic rent and rent tenants pay
• part of a payment that keeps land, labor, or capital in a particular use is not economic rent, but transfer earnings

Question 13

what are general gluts, according to malthus

Answer 13

business sometimes supplies more goods and services than people want to buy

Question 14

what did ricardo disagree with malthus on

Answer 14

ricardo –> general gluts are impossible because customers must do something cuz infinite desires
malthus –> he fw the idea cuz what if they didn’t wanna spend money