Andre LaRenzie, Chapter 12, Question #6

In chapter 12 of "Naked Economics" by Charles Wheelan, the author speaks on the topic of Trade and Globalization. More specifically, he highlights many points on what trade does. In the section titled "Trade Makes us Richer", Wheelan touches on the topic of productivity making us richer and specialization making us productive. He uses the example of mechanical engineers in Seattle compared to factory workers who make clothing in Bangladesh. He asks why do we import clothes made by unskilled workers when we can have others do that who are more qualified? He then answers this question by saying that the engineers are busy making airplanes, and maximizing their value for their time. Creating clothes that an unskilled worker could is a waste of time for a qualified engineer. I found this particular passage illuminating because I've always wondered why we import clothing from poor countries and unskilled workers when we can make it ourselves. I now have my answer.