comparative advantage · intermediate
Comparative Advantage Diagnostics
Translate Ricardian intuition into sector diagnostics using simple unit labor metrics and caveats.
- Duration
- 6 weeks
- Format
- cohort + async
- Region focus
- Global
- Tuition (info)
- THB 7,800
Overview
Build charts that show where relative productivity stories hold—and where policy and scale distort textbook predictions. Includes Thailand manufacturing vignettes with honest limitations called out.
What is included
- Unit labor requirement worksheets (simplified)
- When comparative advantage narratives break (economies of scale)
- Pairwise country charts for selected HS chapters
- Reading list: World Bank and UNCTAD summaries
- Facilitated critique of popular press “competitiveness” claims
- Scenario: reshoring vs regional diversification
- Peer review of one participant chart
Outcomes
- Produce a defensible one-page diagnostic for a single HS category
- Name three common data pitfalls in press rankings
- Explain when policy matters more than productivity spreads
Lead facilitator
Elena Vogel
Trade economist; former university teaching assistant for international economics.
Participant questions
How much math?
Arithmetic and ratios; we provide templates so you are not deriving proofs.
Is general equilibrium covered?
Only at intuition level; we flag what full models add.
Limitation?
Not a forecasting course—diagnostics are illustrative, not trading signals.
Experience notes
The “when narratives break” module was blunt in a useful way—especially on scale economies.