I think you’re talking about absolute advantage here, not comparative advantage. Even if I can’t donate $8K, earning to give could still be my comparative advantage.
Suppose the best job I can get pays $40K and I could donate $8K of that, or I could do direct work. Someone else might be able to donate $40K or they could do direct work, and they’d be better at both than I am. If they’re more than 5x better at direct work than I am then I should earn to give, but it’s really hard for me to tell how much better they are at each thing. This gets even more complicated when you’re comparing lots of people instead of just two people.
Sure, but your absolute advantage may provide some evidence of a comparative advantage. If you can give say ~10X the top 90th percentile of self-identified EAs, you might also fine some direct work that allows you to contribute much more effectively than most EAs do directly, but it means there’s a higher bar to clear.
I think you’re talking about absolute advantage here, not comparative advantage. Even if I can’t donate $8K, earning to give could still be my comparative advantage.
Suppose the best job I can get pays $40K and I could donate $8K of that, or I could do direct work. Someone else might be able to donate $40K or they could do direct work, and they’d be better at both than I am. If they’re more than 5x better at direct work than I am then I should earn to give, but it’s really hard for me to tell how much better they are at each thing. This gets even more complicated when you’re comparing lots of people instead of just two people.
Sure, but your absolute advantage may provide some evidence of a comparative advantage. If you can give say ~10X the top 90th percentile of self-identified EAs, you might also fine some direct work that allows you to contribute much more effectively than most EAs do directly, but it means there’s a higher bar to clear.