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Revealed Comparative Advantage and the Alternatives as Measures of International Specialisation

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Author Info
Keld Laursen

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Abstract

The paper is an analysis of Balassa’s ‘revealed comparative advantage’ (RCA). The papers shows that when using the RCA, it should always be adjusted in such a way, so that it becomes symmetric. The conclusion is based on a theoretical discussion of the properties of the measure, but also on convincing empirical evidence, based on the Jarque-Bera test of normality of the error terms from regressions, using both the RCA and the ‘Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage’ (the RSCA). The RSCA is also compared to other measures of international trade specialisation. These measures included the Michaely index and the chi square measure. The conclusion emerging from the analysis is that the RSCA is - on balance - the best measure of comparative

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies in its series DRUID Working Papers with number 98-30.

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Date of creation: 1998
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Handle: RePEc:aal:abbswp:98-30

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Related research
Keywords: revealed comparative advantage; international specialisation;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Country and Industry Studies of Trade

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Krugman, Paul, 1980. "Scale Economies, Product Differentiation, and the Pattern of Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(5), pages 950-59, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Grupp, Hariolf, 1994. "The measurement of technical performance of innovations by technometrics and its impact on established technology indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 175-193, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Webster, Allan & Gilroy, Michael, 1995. "Labour Skills and the UK's Comparative Advantage with Its European Union Partners," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 327-42, April.
  4. Dalum, Bent & Laursen, Keld & Villumsen, Gert, 1998. "Structural Change in OECD Export Specialisation Patterns: De-Specialisation and 'Stickiness.'," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 423-43, September.
  5. Thomas Vollrath, 1991. "A theoretical evaluation of alternative trade intensity measures of revealed comparative advantage," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 265-280, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Kumar, Nalini Ranjan & Rai, Mathura, 2007. "Performance, Competitiveness and Determinants of Tomato Export from India," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 20(2007). [Downloadable!]
  2. Fischer, Christian & Schornberg, Sebastian, 2006. "The competitiveness situation of the EU meat processing and beverage manufacturing sectors," 98th Seminar, June 29-July 2, 2006, Chania, Crete, Greece 10028, European Association of Agricultural Economists. [Downloadable!]
  3. Ramkishen Rajan & Rahul Sen & Reza Y. Siregar, 2002. "Hong Kong, Singapore and the East Asian Crisis: How Important were Trade Spillovers?," Working Papers 142002, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Amador, João & Cabral, Sonia & Ramos Maria, Jose, 2007. "Relative Export Structures and Vertical Specialization: A Simple Cross-Country Index," MPRA Paper 6208, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  5. Ferto, Imre & Hubbard, L.J., 2003. "The Dynamics Of Agri-Food Trade Patterns - The Hungarian Case," 2003 Annual Meeting, August 16-22, 2003, Durban, South Africa 25851, International Association of Agricultural Economists. [Downloadable!]
  6. Anne Otto & Dirk Fornahl, 2009. "Cohesion Policy:Methodology And Indicators Towards Common Approach," Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Regional Science Association, vol. 3(1), pages 1-35, JUNE. [Downloadable!]
  7. Fischer, Christian, 2007. "Food quality and product export performance. An empirical investigation of the EU situation," 105th Seminar, March 8-10, 2007, Bologna, Italy 7877, European Association of Agricultural Economists. [Downloadable!]
  8. Amador, João & Cabral, Sónia & Ramos Maria, José, 2007. "International Trade Patterns over the Last Four Decades: How does Portugal Compare with other Cohesion Countries?," MPRA Paper 5996, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  9. Tom Broekel & Thomas Brenner, 2007. "Measuring Regional Innovativeness - A Methodological Discussion and an Application to One German Industry," Jena Economic Research Papers in Economics 2007-065, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics, Thueringer Universitaets- und Landesbibliothek. [Downloadable!]
  10. Johan Fourie & Dieter von Fintel, 2009. "World Rankings of Comparative Advantage in Service Exports," Working Papers 03/2009, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  11. Jessie Bakens & Henri de Groot, 2007. "Globalisation and the Dutch Economy," CPB Discussion Papers 89, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. [Downloadable!]
  12. Otto, Anne & Fornahl, Dirk, 2008. "Long-term growth determinants of young businesses in Germany : effects of regional concentration and specialisation," IAB Discussion Paper 200813, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]. [Downloadable!]
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