Most modern production involves not just the cost of doing things, but also the cost of figuring out how to do them. Before aircraft manufacturers can produce and sell a new airplane model, they must spend billions of dollars over a decade or more of development – costs that must later be recouped.
但在这些毒药之下藏着黄金。大部分现代生产不但包括生产成本，还包括学习如何生产的成本。在飞机制造商可以生产和销售新机型之前，它们需要花费数十亿美元、数十年时间用于研发&mdash;&mdash;这些成本必须在日后收回。如果它们不能确定新机型是否存在市场，就不会去承担这些成本。政府采购的作用就在这个时候显现。