specialization

The intensive specialization in industrial societies—the refinement and simplification of tasks (especially associated with a machine technology) so that a worker often produces only a small part of a particular commodity—is not usually found in nonindustrialized societies. There is rarely a division of labour within an industry…

By such specialization he can realize the benefits of large-scale production and can make the most money from an enterprise in which he is highly skilled. On the other hand, the specialist is vulnerable to sudden changes in the market, to plant and animal diseases, and to…

…Smith emphasized the importance of specialization as a source of increased output, and he treated international trade as a particular instance of specialization: in a world where productive resources are scarce and human wants cannot be completely satisfied, each nation should specialize in the production of goods it is particularly…

Perhaps the best example of specialization of labour in the Middle Ages is to be found in the large-scale metal-mining industry in central Europe, as described by the German scientist Georgius Agricola in De re metallica (1556), the leading textbook for miners and metallurgists for nearly two centuries. In addition…

…observed the benefits of the specialization of labour in the manufacture of pins. Although earlier observers had noted this phenomenon, Smith’s writings commanded widespread attention and helped foster an awareness of industrial production and broaden its appeal.

Stamping plants specialize in producing the formed metal parts that constitute the body of the automobile. Radio assembly plants, in turn, depend upon other assembly plants for components such as transistors and integrated circuits. There are glass plants for windows, transmission plants, tire plants, and many others,…

…that Britain would benefit from specializing in manufactured goods and exporting them in return for food, Ricardo hit upon the “law of comparative costs” as proof of his model of free trade. He assumed that within a given country labour and capital are free to move in search of the…