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Old 04-23-11, 09:20 AM   #29
RobertSmalls
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Conclusion: The US has the equivalent of more than 140 cities the size of New York.

Market externalities drive down efficiency overall. An insistence on buying locally reduces the number of business competing for your patronage, and it causes some companies to do open up shop in the wrong locations. An extreme example is agriculture. If strawberries grow 50% better in California than in Buffalo, then Buffalo should import strawberries and perhaps export cheese. In a less extreme example, if there is already a massive fiberglass plant in Leeds, with millions spent on high efficiency, high output tooling, why open up a smaller, less efficient one in Cardiff?
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