Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / Economic specialization manifests itself in many forms, so that it will be desirable at the outset to distinguish between the various ways in which producing units may be specialized or diversified. Specialization, as the term is used in economics, is the functional differentiation of production, or the division of the various operations of production into various parts performed by individual units of production. It follows from the definition that specialization can be divided into several different classifications, according to (1) the type of differentiation, and (2) the unit of production under conaideration. Two types of differentiation can be distinguished, one of which we shall call "technical specialization" and the other which we shall call "product specialization". Technical specialization is specialization in one or a few operations in the production of one good or of a number of goods, while product specialization may be defined as specialization in all of the operations in the production of a single good. Three units of production are considered in this paper: (a) the region, (b) the firm, and (c) the individual worker [TRUNCATED]