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Chapter 9: Problem 3

A book on the Roman Empire made the following observation: "Romans bought their pots from professional potters, and bought their defence from professional soldiers. From both they got a quality product-much better than if they had had to do their soldiering and potting themselves." Briefly explain what economic concept the author is illustrating in this passage. How does he know that Romans got better pots and better defense by relying on this economic concept?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The economic concept discussed in the passage is Section and Division of Labor, which refers to the phenomenon where a group focuses on producing a specific product or service, boosting productivity and improving efficiency. It is assumed that this concept led to Romans obtaining better pots and superior defense, as continuous practice and focus enhance expertise and efficiency.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the Economic Concept

The economic concept illustrated in the passage is specialization and division of labor. It is the method where a certain group of individuals or sectors focuses on producing a specific good or service, rather than producing multiple different goods and services. This concept increases productivity and efficiency in a society or an economy.
02

Explain the Economic Concept in Context of the Passage

Professional potters and soldiers are examples of specialization and division of labor in the Roman Empire. Each group focused on their respective professions, producing quality work in the process. The potters did not have to divide their time and resources learning defense skills, and similarly, the soldiers weren't distracted by pot-making tasks.
03

Analyze the Benefits of This Concept

The assumption is that Romans got better pots and an improved defense by relying on this economic concept. This is because the more a group of individuals focuses on a particular task, the more proficient they become through practice, improved techniques, and accumulation of specific knowledge. So it is believed that the pots made by professional potters were better in quality, and the defense provided by professional soldiers was stronger compared to those made or done by non-professionals.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Briefly explain whether you agree with the following statement: "International trade is more important to the U.S. economy than it is to most other economies."

What is the difference between absolute advantage and comparative advantage? If a country has an absolute advantage in producing a good, will it always be an exporter of that good? Briefly explain.

An article in the New York Times quoted an economist as arguing that "global free trade and the European single market \(\ldots\) encourage countries to specialize in sectors where they enjoy comparative advantage. Germany's [comparative advantage] is in cars and machine tools." For the author's observation to be correct, must Germany be able to produce more cars and machine tools per hour worked than do France, Italy, Spain, and Germany's other trading partners? Briefly explain.

(Related to the Apply the Concept on page 307) For several years, the United States imposed a tariff on tire imports. According to an analysis by economists Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Sean Lowry of the Peterson Institute, of the additional \(\$ 1.1\) billion consumers spent on tires as a result of the tariff on Chinese tires, the workers whose jobs were saved in the U.S. tire industry received only about \(\$ 48\) million in wages. Wouldn't it have been cheaper for the federal government to have raised taxes on U.S. consumers and given the money to tire workers rather than to have imposed a tariff? If so, why didn't the federal government adopt this alternative policy?

Briefly explain whether you agree with the following argument: "Unfortunately, Bolivia does not have a comparative advantage with respect to the United States in the production of any good or service." (Hint: You do not need any specific information about the economies of Bolivia or the United States to be able to answer this question.)
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