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Comparative Advantage: Theory, Empirical Measures And Case Studies

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  • Tri WIDODO

    (Faculty of Economics and Business, Gadjah Mada University)

Abstract

This paper consists of three main parts i.e. theory, analytical tool and case studies of comparative advantage. Firstly, we review the theory and various empirical measures of comparative advantage. We would argue that for the catching-up economies, like ASEAN countries, the meaning of “leading exported products” could be examined from the two points of view i.e. international competitiveness and country’s trade balance. Secondly, we combine two indexes of comparative advantage, i.e. Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) index by Dalum et al. (1998) and Laursen (1998), and Trade Balance Index (TBI) by Lafay (1992), which represent well the two points of view, to propose an analytical tool, namely “products mapping”. Thirdly, this analytical tool is applied to analyze exported products (defined as 3-digit SITC Revision 2) of the ASEAN countries. This paper concludes that in the cases of ASEAN countries, the higher the comparative advantage for a specific product, the higher the possibility of the country as a net-exporter becomes. This finding strongly supports the theory of comparative advantage.

Suggested Citation

  • Tri WIDODO, 2009. "Comparative Advantage: Theory, Empirical Measures And Case Studies," Review of Economic and Business Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 4, pages 57-82, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:aic:revebs:y:2009:i:4:widodot
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Revealed Comparative Advantage; Trade Balance; Products Mapping.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E00 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - General
    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
    • E13 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Neoclassical

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