World trade volume
The expression world trade volume describes the sum of the value of all goods that are traded worldwide between countries or economic areas. A high volume of world trade weakens the self-sufficiency of the respective countries, but strengthens exports and thus also foreign exchange trading.
A high volume of world trade is a sign of a high level of consumption , product diversity and prosperity . Economic crises such as the world economic crisis of 1929 (drop in world trade volume by 25%) strain the world trade volume and transport the crisis to countries or economic areas that are losing jobs due to falling exports .
The world trade volume has increased by around 6 percent annually since 1948 and has now peaked. 70 percent of world goods exports move between the USA , the European Union and Japan . Alongside cultural developments, increasing world trade is the most important factor in globalization .
Others
World trade promotes the division of labor between countries ("international division of labor") and their specialization. Adam Smith published in 1776 as the still regarded as fundamentally valid work The Wealth of Nations (An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations). Smith describes the importance of the division of labor and specialization for the prosperity of economic subjects and economies . Smith's book criticized the mercantilism (which had prevailed until then in economic policy) , which was practiced by the major European powers of the time. Smith's work is regarded as the fundamental work of economics (including economics ), which then established itself as an independent scientific discipline; it initiated classical economics and economic liberalism .
Some countries succeeded in considerably increasing their prosperity after 1945 through active participation in world trade. Examples:
Many of these countries took advantage of their then low wage level and initially exported mainly labor-intensive products.