International trade

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1758394757

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-136209

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Taussig, Frank William http://d-nb.info/gnd/120199459

Title:: International trade

Place of publication:: New York, NY

Publisher:: Macmillan

Year of publication:: 1927

Scope:: XXI, 425 Seiten; graph. Darst.

Digitisation:: 2021

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Part I. Theory

Collection:: Economics Books

3 INTERNATIONAL TRADE If now our supposed mass meetings took place and the possibility of trade between the two countries were contemplated, it is obvious that Germany would gain by sending 15 linen to the United States and getting anything more than 7% of copper in exchange. The 15 of linen are in Germany the product of 5 days of labor (30 linen for 10 days, hence 15 linen for 5 days). That same amount of labor in Germany (5 days) would produce 7% of copper. By shipping 15 of linen to the United States and getting more than 7% of copper in exchange, Germany gains. Conversely, the United States would gain by an exchange of 15 linen for anything less than 30 of copper. The ten days labor produce in the United States 30 of copper; any less quantity of copper (25 or 20) is the product of a correspondingly smaller amount of labor. But 10 days in the United States are needed to produce 15 linen. If the United States gets the 15 of German linen for as much as 27, 2§, 29 of copper, she still gets the linen for less labor than would be needed to produce it at home. ‘The quantitative relation between these physical amounts — between pounds of copper and yards of linen — we designate as the “barter terms of trade.” We are assuming, be it remembered, that no money is used and that the transactions are simply and solely the exchange of goods for goods. Much copper for little) linen, or much linen for little copper — these are the possibilities of the barter terms of trade. What is the meaning of the phrase under this simple condition is obvious enough and is easily visualized. ~ But with the use of money and with sales and purchases in terms of money — under the complex conditions of the actual foreign commerce of the world — the facts which the phrase describes are by no means easy to visualize. Not only are they very difficult to keep in mind, but they are so disguised, so overlain by other more conspicuous and not less significant phenomena, that one is apt to forget that they exist at all. In the every-day talk about foreign trade their existence is completely ignored; one would not dream that there was such a thing. Even in the discussions of the economists they are often forgotten. Yet this is the important thing: it is here that we have the essence of international trade ;

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