Final answer:
The true statement that comparative advantage rather than absolute advantage explains most trade today aligns with modern international trade examples, emphasizing diverse opportunity costs and specialization benefits.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement is true: Most trade today is more likely to be explained by the Theory of Comparative Advantage than by the Theory of Absolute Advantage. To comprehend the benefits of trade, or why we trade in the first place, we must grasp these concepts. While the Theory of Absolute Advantage involves comparing the productivity of countries where each country will produce what it can create most efficiently, the Theory of Comparative Advantage is more nuanced.
It suggests that trade should occur where countries have large differences in opportunity costs of production, leading to gains from trade when countries specialize and produce goods at a lower opportunity cost. This theory is supported by modern patterns of international trade, where even economies with similar levels of income and technological development, such as Japan, Canada, and the United States, engage heavily in trade due to varying comparative advantages.