comparative advantage
noun
ECONOMICS ukus [ C ]
an advantage a country has over another country because it can produce a particular type of product more efficiently:
Russia's comparative advantage is in the export of raw materials.
comparative advantage in sth The United States has a comparative advantage in providing financial services to the rest of the world.
[ U ]
the idea that countries should only export the goods that they are able to produce more efficiently than other countries and import the goods that other countries are able to produce more efficiently than them:
When David Ricardo expounded the theory of comparative advantage, he chose the examples of wine and cloth.
Compare
absolute advantage