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I think you mean competitive advantage, not comparative. I got a D in my only economics class, but I think that I've seen comparative advantage used to mean th

I think you mean competitive advantage, not comparative. I got a D in my only economics class, but I think that I've seen comparative advantage used to mean that "X is better at doing Y than doing Z", whereas competitive advantage is "X is better at doing Y than Z is at doing Y". If you're not using it as jargon, then the fact that it is jargon might be confusing.

SilasX 7y ago
If you’re going to insist on proper jargon, you might want to refresh first. Comparative advantage [1] in X means you suffer a lower opportunity cost (forgone profit from what you could have done) to produce X than others. A canonical example would be the doctor who is a better secretary than their secretary (produces more value per hour, looking only at secretarial value). The secretary still has a comparative advantage in secretarial labor because they forgo $0 of doctor income to work that job, while the doctor would forgo $100/hour they could be earning as a doctor in order to work as a secretary. This is true even though the doctor has an absolute (or competitive) advantage in secretarial work. The real test for whether something is financially optimal is if you have a comparative, not absolute advantage. Uber not having a competitive/absolute advantage in SDCs would also be a reason not to do it, because of the details of this case, but comparative advantage is correct as well, though perhaps an unnecessarily strong criterion for the point I needed to make. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage
- perl4ever 7y ago
  "Comparative advantage [1] in X means you suffer a lower opportunity cost" Yes, however I don't see a relevant difference between that and my phrasing. It still looks to me as though you were clearly describing a lack of competitive advantage, while using the word comparative. Sure, you can discuss comparative advantage if you want.

SilasX 7y ago

If you’re going to insist on proper jargon, you might want to refresh first. Comparative advantage [1] in X means you suffer a lower opportunity cost (forgone profit from what you could have done) to produce X than others. A canonical example would be the doctor who is a better secretary than their secretary (produces more value per hour, looking only at secretarial value). The secretary still has a comparative advantage in secretarial labor because they forgo $0 of doctor income to work that job, while the doctor would forgo $100/hour they could be earning as a doctor in order to work as a secretary. This is true even though the doctor has an absolute (or competitive) advantage in secretarial work. The real test for whether something is financially optimal is if you have a comparative, not absolute advantage. Uber not having a competitive/absolute advantage in SDCs would also be a reason not to do it, because of the details of this case, but comparative advantage is correct as well, though perhaps an unnecessarily strong criterion for the point I needed to make. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage

perl4ever 7y ago
"Comparative advantage [1] in X means you suffer a lower opportunity cost" Yes, however I don't see a relevant difference between that and my phrasing. It still looks to me as though you were clearly describing a lack of competitive advantage, while using the word comparative. Sure, you can discuss comparative advantage if you want.