In the real world, is absolute advantage ever used or is it not complex enough?
Absolute advantage is a term that we use to describe who is better at something relative to another person/business/country. It may be used to demonstrate who is better, but even a company seeking to maximize profits wouldn't want to make something just because they have an absolute advantage. Everyone (the company, the consumer) would be better off if the company outsourced some production to another company they have an absolute advantage over if it means they can focus on what they have a comparative advantage in. For example, Apple will design their products in the US, but has them manufactured overseas. Apple could produce the same amount or more phones if they made them here, but they instead choose to focus on designing, and let other foreign companies make their devices. Since this frees up resources for marketing, research, design, Apple is able to get more phones into the hands of consumers than if they tried to do everything in house. As a consumer of their devices, I also appreciate that they specialize, and let other foreign companies who have a comparative advantage in manufacturing handle that part of the process since it makes the phones cheaper for me.