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Quotation from On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation by David Ricardo
“England may be so circumstanced, that to produce the cloth may require the labour of 100 men for one year; and if she attempted to make the wine, it might require the labour of 120 men for the same time.”
On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, Chapter VI: On foreign trade (On the Principles of Political Economy, and Taxation, 1st ed. (London: John Murray, 1817), Project Gutenberg #33310)
The start of Ricardo's famous example of England, Portugal, cloth and wine, the classic illustration of comparative advantage.
Citation: "England may be so circumstanced, that to produce the cloth may require the labour of 100 men for one year; and if she attempted to make the wine, it might require the labour of 120 men for the same time." — David Ricardo, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, Chapter VI: On foreign trade (On the Principles of Political Economy, and Taxation, 1st ed. (London: John Murray, 1817), Project Gutenberg #33310). (id ricardo-principles-of-political-economy-and-taxation-q6)
