The paper has two objectives. The first is to discuss whether developing countries can benefit by specializing according to their comparative advantage. The second objective is to discuss if an economy that adopts a free market policy, will in effect achieve greater economic efficiency. The author concludes that specialization according to comparative advantage would indeed benefit a country. He also argues that in an economy ruled by free competition and without governmental interference, market signals and forces are not by themselves sufficient to provide the necessary incentives to producers so that they fully use the available resources, and produce and trade according to comparative advantage.
comparative advantage; trade; growth
