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Revealed comparative advantage: What is it good for?

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  • French, Scott

Abstract

This paper applies a widely-used class of quantitative trade models to evaluate the usefulness of measures of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) in academic and policy analyses. I find that, while commonly-used indexes are generally not consistent with theoretical notions of comparative advantage, certain indexes can be usefully employed for certain tasks. I explore several common uses of RCA indexes and show that different indexes are appropriate when attempting to (a) uncover countries' fundamental patterns of comparative advantage, (b) evaluate the differential effect of changes in trade barriers across producers of different products, or (c) identify countries who are relatively close competitors in a given market.

Suggested Citation

  • French, Scott, 2017. "Revealed comparative advantage: What is it good for?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 83-103.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:inecon:v:106:y:2017:i:c:p:83-103
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2017.02.002
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Relative productivity; Index; Ricardian; Trade barriers; Trade policy; Trade elasticity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration

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