Introduction 介绍
Over the years, the global community has been engaged in discussions on the ways of enhancing global trade. In this regard, there have been growing arguments that when countries in different regions reduce trade barriers and seek to engage others both regionally and globally, they will create a platform for improved trade, thus creating a platform to enhance their economic growth and development. As Dawe (2001) observes, the signing and enactment of different trade agreements continues to push the global economy towards fully embracing free trade. Importantly, the proponents of free trade reiterate free trade promotes efficiency, promotes fairness and competitiveness as well as create a platform for economies at different levels to achieve growth and development (Dawe, 2001). Whereas this is the case, the opponents of free trade argue that this approach to global trade could lead to negative impacts on the environment, erode the local culture, and lead to high levels of unemployment in some economies across the globe. This study explores the extent to which the theories of comparative and absolute advantage provide a foundation for arguments in support of free trade.
多年来，国际社会一直在讨论如何加强全球贸易。在这方面，越来越多的观点认为，当不同区域的减少贸易壁垒并寻求在区域和全球范围内与其他接触时，它们将创造一个改善贸易的平台，从而创造一个促进其经济增长和发展的平台。正如Dawe（2001）所观察到的那样，不同贸易协定的签署和颁布继续推动全球经济全面接受自由贸易。重要的是，自由贸易的支持者重申，自由贸易促进效率，促进公平和竞争力，并为不同层次的经济体创造实现增长和发展的平台（Dawe，2001年）。尽管如此，自由贸易的反对者认为，这种全球贸易方式可能对环境造成负面影响，侵蚀当地文化，并导致全球一些经济体的高失业率。本研究探讨了比较优势和优势理论为支持自由贸易的论据提供了何种依据。
The theory of absolute advantage 优势理论
The absolute advantage theory seeks to promote the fact that a country is likely to specialize in the productions of certain goods and/or services if it can produce them at a lower cost as compared to others in the market. In reference to Oldenski (2010), the absolute advantage theory was developed by Adam Smith, who perceived that the more a country specialised in a particular area in the economy because of the advantage it has over its competitors, the more it was likely to enhance its production levels and as such, it level of economic growth and development. To provide a better understanding of how absolute advantage enhanced the position of a country in the global economy, Adam Smith provided an example of labour specialisation. In this case, he argued that when an economy adopts a framework that promotes labour specialisation, it enhances the productivity levels of individual workers, which when compounded, leads to greater output and as such, improved economic growth and development. In other words, Adam Smith sought to promote the fact that when workers were organised in a certain way that allowed them to specialise in certain skills, they will definitely have a higher level of productivity as compared to workers who are not organised through skills specialisation.
优势理论旨在促进这样一个事实，即一个如果能够以比市场上其他更低的成本生产某些商品和/或服务，就有可能专门从事这些商品和/或服务的生产。参考Oldenski（2010），优势理论由亚当·斯密（Adam Smith）提出，他认为，一个由于其相对于竞争对手的优势而在经济中的某一特定领域的专业化程度越高，就越有可能提高其生产水平，从而提高其经济增长和发展水平。为了更好地理解优势如何提高一国在全球经济中的地位，亚当·斯密提供了一个劳动力专业化的例子。在这种情况下，他认为，当一个经济体采用促进劳动力专业化的框架时，它会提高单个工人的生产率水平，而这一水平在复合时会带来更大的产出，从而改善经济增长和发展。换言之，亚当·斯密试图宣传这样一个事实，即当工人以某种方式组织起来，使他们能够专门从事某些技能时，他们肯定会比没有通过技能专业化组织起来的工人拥有更高的生产力水平。
One of the questions that emerges from Adam Smith’s absolute advantage theory and particularly his representation of this theory through labour specialisation regards whether this benefit of engaging in specialisation of some form can be translated to the national economy as it engages in international trade. To answer this question, there is a need to examine the main factor that promotes international trade. In reference to Gillespie and Hennessey (2016), despite the fact that there are numerous factors that motivate countries to engage in international trade, one of the main factors that inspires them to engage in such trade is the differences in productivity levels. In this regard, countries that have achieved absolute advantage in producing certain commodities have a high likelihood of engaging in international trade with countries that lack such production advantage. To achieve this, most of these countries are likely to enter into trade agreements that will allow each to exports commodities that it has absolute advantage in to the other. This cannot happen without reducing the barriers to trade, which in this case include both tariff and non-tariff barriers.
亚当·斯密（Adam Smith）的优势理论，特别是他通过劳动专业化对这一理论的表述，提出了一个问题，即从事某种形式专业化的好处是否可以转化为从事国际贸易的国民经济。为了回答这个问题，有必要研究促进国际贸易的主要因素。关于Gillespie和Hennessey（2016），尽管有许多因素促使各国参与国际贸易，但促使各国参与国际贸易的主要因素之一是生产率水平的差异。在这方面，在生产某些商品方面取得优势的极有可能与缺乏这种生产优势的进行国际贸易。为了实现这一目标，这些中的大多数可能会签订贸易协定，允许各自向对方出口其拥有优势的商品。如果不降低贸易壁垒，就无法实现这一目标，在这种情况下，贸易壁垒包括关税壁垒和非关税壁垒。