As such, comparative advantage is an important concept in global trade, and it's the reason many countries concentrate on trying to produce certain goods or services more efficiently than other countries.
In March 2013, the total cost of the Iraq War to date was estimated at $1.7 trillion by the Watson Institute of International Studies at Brown University. Some argue that the total cost of the war to the U.S. economy will range from $3 trillion to $6 trillion, including interest rates, by 2053, as described in the Watson Institute's report.
Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz has estimated that the war costs $12 billion per month and over time will take a $3 trillion toll on the US â draining public resources and drawing attention, as well as finances, away from the pressing problem of global warming.