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.
Cost compared to GDP. World War II, in which the United States deployed 75 times as many troops as in Iraq, cost the nation about $20,400 per soldier, adjusted for inflation, according to researchers. The costs of Iraq and Afghanistan are not as high a percentage of the overall economy as past wars.