Comparative Advantage Index Research Articles

A Comparative Analysis of Competitive Trade in a Cluster Market of the European Union: The Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) Index

Abstract This research is concerned with the comparative analysis of competitive trade within the cluster market economies of the European Union. The aim of this paper is to carry out trade analysis within the competing countries in the European market from 2009 to 2018 which represents the period after the global crisis of 2008 and prior to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2019 for the purpose of determining the extent of competitive trade within the European economies. The chosen metric is Béla Balassa’s Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index used for determining various countries’ comparative advantage or disadvantage in trade. The findings show that the countries with RCA > 1 thrive economically in comparison to other competing lower economies. And the fact that the European Union economy thrives on mechanized trade other than agricultural products irrespective of the competitive market. This study is a significant contribution towards improving the Ricardian model of comparative advantage on trade within a cluster market in the European economies.

Spatial identification and trade-off analysis of land use functions improve spatial zoning management in rapid urbanized areas, China

The quantitative identification and trade-off/synergy analysis of land use functions (LUFs) form the foundation of territory spatial planning and management. However, the application of trade-offs/synergies in LUF changes to territory spatial zoning remains understudied. In this study, with Hangzhou city in eastern China as a case study area, a series of geospatial models and multisource data were used to quantify LUFs at grid scale over a long time series. The normalized revealed comparative advantage index model was utilized to identify the dominant functions of territory space. Then, Pearson correlation analysis was employed to reveal the spatial and temporal patterns of LUF trade-offs/synergies. Finally, based on quantitative LUFs and their trade-offs/synergies, this study proposed a new spatial functional zoning scheme and targeted management measures to improve territory spatial zoning management. The results showed that during 2000 and 2018, production and ecological functions improved in the western mountainous areas and declined in the eastern plains, while living function significantly improved obviously in the eastern plains of Hangzhou City. The distributions of agricultural, urban and ecological dominant functional areas exhibited obvious regional differences. Among the three LUFs, the trade-off relationship dominated their interactive relationships, trade-off areas for production and living, and for living and ecological function changes mainly occurred in peri-urban areas, while trade-off areas for production and ecological function changes were distributed in the eastern outer suburbs and western valley of Hangzhou City. Based on the dominant functions and trade-offs/synergies of LUF changes, ten types of grid-scale territory spatial functional zones and five types of town-scale major functional zones were divided to optimize and control territory spatial patterns. In general, the proposed zoning scheme contributes to addressing LUF conflicts and building a territory spatial pattern with coordination development of agriculture, urban and ecology.

SALSTM: An improved LSTM algorithm for predicting the competitiveness of export products

As international trade has been developing at an unprecedented rate, export product competitiveness is significant in a country's trade system. At present, neural network algorithms are extensively used in economic forecasting. Scholars have verified the effectiveness of neural networks, especially long short term memory (LSTM) model, compared with other nonlinear prediction methods. However, there are still research blanks in forecasting economic indicators related to export product competitiveness, and there is little research on the improved LSTM model combined with other algorithms. To address this limitation, this article established a quantitative index system for export product competitiveness composed of four highly recognized indicators such as revealed comparative advantage index, net export revealed comparative advantage index, international market share index, and economic value added. After collecting the relevant economic data, the single LSTM model was used to predict the future trend of China's machinery and equipment export product competitiveness. Based on the shortcomings exposed in applying single LSTM prediction, the article innovatively designs a combined forecast model of LSTM and seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average, and whose effectiveness and superiority are proved by the mean square error value. Finally, the article points out that this model plays an important role in national trade policy making. It is optimistic about the development of deep learning in international trade product competitiveness indicators prediction.

Comparative Advantage of Tanzanian Coffee Sector under “Everything but Arms” Export Trading Regime

This paper assesses the comparative advantage of the Tanzanian coffee sector in the European Union (EU) before and during the Everything but Arms (EBA) trading regime. Coffee’s comparative advantage at the EU level was compared to other commercial crops’ comparative advantage namely; sisal, tobacco, cashew nuts, tea and cotton. To get a clear effect of the regime, Balassa Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index has been employed to analyze exports values from 1995 to 2000 before EBA and from 2001 to 2019 during EBA as two separate periods. Findings from this study indicate that before EBA, coffee was a third product to be exported but during EBA it become a less specialized product. Therefore, EBA has promoted less the export of coffee to the EU market than expected that it will increase as the regime released transaction costs which were restricting the trade. To benefit from EBA preferential agreements, policymakers and sectorial stakeholders have to revisit EBA terms and conditions especially that of “Rule of Origin” which is reported as a major obstacle for most countries to utilize trade preferences agreements merely when they bump into low production within the country of origin. Keywords: RCA, EAC, EBA, EU Market, Balassa Index DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-4-02 Publication date: February 28 th 2022

The Importance of Global Value Chains in Developing Countries’ Agricultural Trade Development

The role of global value-added chains is growing in international trade. The development gap between highly developed economies and developing countries means that the only products with which less developed economies can compete on the international arena are agricultural products. Moreover, integration into global value-added chains is an important factor in achieving comparative advantages in trade and improving export competitiveness. The main aim of this article is to assess the impact of integration within global value chains on changes in the comparative advantage of developing countries in the global agricultural trade. The degree of participation of developing countries in global value chains (GVC) was assessed using data from the Trade in Value-added OECD–WTO database (November 2021 edition) by calculating domestic (DVA), foreign value-added (FVA), and revealed comparative advantage (RCA) indexes. The analysis covers the period 1995–2018 and 28 developing economies. The research showed that the foreign value added in the gross exports of agricultural commodities of developing countries was an important factor in strengthening their export position and the importance of integration within global value chains rises with increasing product complexity. In agricultural production, FVA in most developing countries does not have a significant impact on the shaping of the comparative advantage.

Normality in the Distribution of Revealed Comparative Advantage Index for International Trade and Economic Complexity

The Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index is an important metric for evaluating competitiveness of a country in exporting certain commodity. While it is desirable to have a normally distributed RCA index, the opposite is often found in empirical studies, and efforts for developing alternative indices of the RCA index have not been very successful. This motivates us to ask a more fundamental question: what is the significance of a normally distributed RCA index? To answer this question, we have defined a quantity called the Deviation from Gaussianity (DfG) based on the KS test, which quantifies the deviation of the distribution of a country’s RCA index from normality. By systematically analyzing the distribution characteristics of RCA index for each country from 1991 to 2019, we find that DfG is strongly negatively correlated with the logarithm of GDP and the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). In particular, correlation between DfG and GDP is stronger than that between ECI and GDP since 2008. These results suggest that DfG may serve as a new excellent index to quantify the economic complexity and economic performance of a country.

Evaluating competitiveness using revealed comparative advantage index: the case of Indian textile exports

The purpose of this paper is the evaluation of the competitiveness of Indian textile products in the global market by using revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index during the period of 2014 to 2018. The results of the study indicate that the majority of the textile commodities have RCA greater than one which indicates comparative advantage while some of them do not. The commodities such as silk, cotton, vegetable textile fibresnes, paper yarn, woven fabric, manmade filament, manmade staple fibres, carpets and other textile floor coverings and special woven or tufted fabric, lace, tapestry, etc. are found to be competitive. Impregnated, coated or laminated textile fabric and special woven or tufted fabric, lace and tapestry are the commodities which are growing at a rapid rate. The study also reveals that the USA, the UK, UAE, China and Bangladesh are major export destinations of textile commodities and India should explore more opportunities by creating demand of these commodities specifically in China and Bangladesh which are geographically closer.

“山地-绿洲-荒漠”复合系统土地利用变化的生态系统服务权衡与协同效应——以张掖市为例

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 “山地-绿洲-荒漠”复合系统土地利用变化的生态系统服务权衡与协同效应——以张掖市为例 DOI: 10.5846/stxb202109122560 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金项目（42101276）；甘肃省科技计划项目（20JR5RA529）；国家自然科学基金项目（41661035）；国家自然基金地区基金（41961027） Ecosystem service tradeoffs and synergies effects of land use change in Mountain-Oasis-Desert complex system: A case study of Zhangye City Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.42101276; Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province, No.20JR5RA529; National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41661035; Regional Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41961027 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:开展复合生态系统土地利用变化的生态服务效应研究可为优化国土空间格局和强化生态系统管理提供重要的基础依据。以干旱区"山地-绿洲-荒漠"复合系统的典型区域张掖市为例，基于1987年、2000年和2018年3期土地利用数据，以乡级行政区为基本单元，引入相对优势度指数划分山地、绿洲、荒漠子系统，研究复合系统的土地利用变化特征及生态系统服务权衡/协同效应。结果表明：（1）张掖市复合系统呈现地域分异特征，由南部山地系统，中部绿洲系统和北部荒漠系统构成；山地系统以林地和草地为主，绿洲系统以耕地和建设用地为主，荒漠系统以未利用地为主。（2）从时间上看，2000-2018年各系统的土地利用变化更强烈，其中，绿洲系统的耕地面积增加量最大，为363.08km2，荒漠系统的建设用地面积增加幅度最大，为78.23%。各系统土地利用转移模式为：山地系统以草地转耕地为主，绿洲系统和荒漠系统以未利用地转耕地为主。（3）张掖市复合系统的生态服务价值呈增加趋势，其中，荒漠系统生态服务价值量的增幅最大，各子系统的价值量之间的关系表现为山地系统 > 绿洲系统 > 荒漠系统，耕地对各系统生态服务价值贡献量最大。（4）张掖市土地利用变化的协同效应大于权衡效应，其中荒漠系统的生态服务之间均为协同关系，山地系统中供给服务与其他服务呈现权衡关系，占比32.73%，绿洲系统中调节服务与其他服务呈现权衡关系，占比18.18%。 Abstract:Research on the ecosystem service effects of land use change in complex ecosystem can provide an important basis for optimizing land spatial pattern and strengthening ecosystem management. Taking Zhangye City, a typical area of Mountain-Oasis-Desert complex system in arid area as an example, based on three phases of land use data in 1987, 2000 and 2018, taking the township administrative region as the basic unit, the comparative advantage index is introduced to divide the mountain, oasis and desert sub-system, and the land use change characteristics of the complex system and the trade-off/synergy effects of ecosystem services are studied. The results show that:(1) The complex system of Zhangye City presents the characteristics of regional differentiation, which is composed of southern mountain system, central oasis system and northern desert system. The mountain system is mainly consisted of forest land and grassland, the oasis system is mainly consisted of cultivated land and construction land, and the desert system is mainly consisted of unused land. (2) In terms of time change, the land use change of each system was more intense from 2000 to 2018. Among them, the increase of the cultivated land area of oasis system was the largest with 363.08 km2, and the increase rang of the construction land area of desert system was the largest with 78.23%. The land use transfer mode of each system is as follows:the mountain system is mainly from grassland turn into cultivated land, and the oasis system and desert system are mainly from unused land turn into cultivated land. (3) The ecosystem service value of the complex system in Zhangye City shows an increasing trend. Among them, the increase rang of the ecosystem service value of the desert system is the largest. The relationship between the value of each sub-system is mountain system > oasis system > desert system, and compared with other land use types, the contribution of the cultivated land to the ecological service value of each system is the largest. (4) The synergy effect of land use change in Zhangye is greater than the trade-off effect. Among them, the ecosystem services of the desert ecosystem are all synergistic relationships. The supply service of the mountain system has a trade-off relationship with other services, accounting for 32.73% of the trade-off relationship, and the regulation service of the oasis system has a trade-off relationship with other services, accounting for 18.18% of the trade-off relationship. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

The role of logistics performance and decreasing of trade competitiveness in ASEAN+3’s manufacturing products

ASEAN Countries members plus Japan, South Korea, and China (ASEAN+3’S) logistics performance play a significant role in maintaining and improving their export and import values, depending on the various commodities trade. Meanwhile, during uncertain situations today, the stakeholders need to enhance the capability of import and export activities to improve logistics performance. The study focused on the competitiveness of the manufacturing products traded by these countries. The study used panel data analysis based on the panel data of 11 years (2008-2018) from the 10 ASEAN+3 countries. Export value and Net Comparative Advantage (NCA) index (including net export and trade openness) were used as dependent variables in the two model studies, and logistics performance was the primary variable. The result shows that logistics performance positively affects the export and trade competitiveness models of ASEAN+3’s manufacturing products. The Logistics Performance Index (LPI) provides estimates that suggest that logistics performance has a significant impact on ASEAN + 3 export value (ExpM) and manufacturing trade competitiveness (NCAM). Meanwhile, there are different results of the effects of macroeconomic variables between the model of export value (ExpM) and the NCAM in the manufacturing in ASEAN+3’s. The ExpM model follows the theory that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increase the competitive value in ASEAN+3 countries. Meanwhile, in the NCAM model, GDP and FDI reduce trade competitiveness because of the high value of ASEAN+3 manufacturing imports.

Konkurentnost izvoza vina iz zemalja CEFTA regiona na tržištu EU

The objective of this paper is to examine the competitiveness of wine export of CEFTA parties (excluding Kosovo), in the period from 2011 to 2020. The CEFTA group exported wine worth a total of 2.3 billion USD during the analyzed period, with significant differences in export value among certain parties. Moldova and North Macedonia generated over 80% of the wine export value. Competitiveness of wine export was analyzed by calculating two sets of indicators. The first set includes three competitiveness indices: revealed comparative advantage index, export specialization index and trade intensity index. The second set of factors relates to the analysis of market share and changes in the market share. With the purpose of identifying causes of changes in the market share, one of them being the competitiveness effect, the authors employed the method of constant market share analysis. The leading exporter, Moldova, although not predominantly focused on the European Union as the main export market, is competitive in the EU market and achieves specialization in exporting wine to the EU market, as well as an increase in trade intensity and market share. Other analyzed CEFTA countries have recorded a decrease in market shares and variable performance regarding export specialization, revealed comparative advantage and trade intensity.

Vietnam Rice Competitiveness in the International Trade Market in Recent Years, Opportunities and New Challenges for Vietnam Rice Export

Vietnam is a top agricultural nation. Agriculture makes up 24% of GDP, 20% of exports, and 70% of employment. The agricultural industry is vital to the country’s economy, especially rice farming, which accounts for 30% of the total output. Currently, rice is the main food consumed by most Vietnamese citizens. Millions of tiny farmers make their living producing rice. In the area of rice, Vietnam is regarded as a nation with a very strong comparative advantage. Vietnam used to have a comparative advantage over other major rice exporters like India, Thailand, and Pakistan. However, in recent years, this advantage has decreased and is now less favorable than in other nations. This is also regarded as a warning for the country’s rice industry, which faces numerous difficulties and obstacles due to the process of integrating the world and the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to figuring out opportunities and new challenges in Vietnam’s rice export, by using the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA), this study will analyze the international competitiveness of Vietnam’s rice exports and assist the country in locating alternative rice export markets. The research will also make some recommendations on how to boost exports of the country’s rice while maintaining or even enhancing its international competitiveness. Additionally, this article will use the Export Competitive Advantage index (XCA) as a complement to the RCA index’s bias.

The EU-China trade in goods in the years 2004–2020 – is the EU exploiting its comparative advantage?

Purpose – The study aims to identify the EU’s and China’s comparative advantage in reciprocal trade and indicate the relations between the structure of this trade and such advantage. Research method – The study used Balassa’s Revealed Comparative Advantage index (RCA), which shows the competitive position in the exports of particular commodities compared to a selected partner. The calculations were based on 2004–2020 data, obtained from the UN Comtrade Database. Results – The results show that in the years under examination the EU-China bilateral trade followed a trend unfavourable for the EU (with an increasing negative balance). The most important commodities were machinery and equipment and they manifested a negative change for the EU. It meant that at the beginning of the analysed period (2004–2006) the EU had a comparative advantage in their exports, which was lost in 2007 and had not been regained by the end of the analysed years. Despite this change, machinery and equipment remained the dominant group of goods exported by the EU to China. Originality/value/implications/recommendations – The answer to the question posed in the title is that in bilateral trade China makes better use of its comparative advantage in exports, while the European Union has the imports structure that is more compatible with its comparative advantage. The EU countries shape the structure of their imports more effectively and, in the vast majority of cases, they purchase goods that they are not competitive with. On the other hand, they definitely underperform as suppliers to the Chinese market, selling goods (mainly machinery and equipment) in which they ceased to be competitive years ago.

Comparative analysis of the competitiveness of Beninese and Brazilian cotton exports in international trade from 2006 to 2018

Abstract: This study aims to analyze the competitiveness and orientation of Brazilian and Beninese cotton exports in international trade from 2006 to 2018. The cotton category in this article refers to “neither carded nor combed” (HS: 5201). To measure competitiveness, we chose to calculate the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCAI) and Symmetric Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (SRCAI), proposed by Balassa (1965) and Laursen (1998) respectively. The Regional Orientation Index (ROI), proposed by Yeats (1997), of cotton for Asia and EU-28 is used. The data were collected from the International Trade Center (ITC) /Trade Map and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The results found indicate that the Brazilian’s and Beninese’s cotton has been increasing values and above the unit showing its competitiveness in the international market. In addition, Benin was more competitive than Brazil because it has, on average, a higher SRCAI than Brazil (0.99 and 0.7 respectively). Concerning the ROI, it was found that Brazilian and Beninese cotton exports are strongly directed towards Asia, the main consumer market for Beninese and Brazilian cotton. As for the EU-28, both Benin and Brazil do not direct their cotton sales to this economic block.

Evaluating competitiveness using revealed comparative advantage index: the case of Indian textile exports

Evaluating competitiveness using revealed comparative advantage index: the case of Indian textile exports

Revealed Comparative Advantage: Analyzing India’s Exports to ASEAN During the Period 2002-20

India’s Act East Policy has been one major initiative to strengthen the strategic relationship with ASEAN. India’s trade intensity has been on the higher side in the last decade. India has great prospects to enter the emerging and unexplored markets of CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) countries owing to its amicable relationship and geographical proximity with those countries. This paper attempts to explore the exportability of products from India to ASEAN countries. The Revealed Comparative Advantage index has been used to identify the products with export potential. In the study, products such as cotton, pharmaceuticals, textiles, pearls and chemicals appear to have a comparative advantage against ASEAN.

Potential of Kazakhstan’s grain export trade

ABSTRACT: Kazakhstan is located in the hinterland of Central Asia. Its virtuous geographical advantages and huge grain production potential make it one of the most important grain exporters in the world. The research on the problem of the grain trade in Kazakhstan is of great significance for food security. This study measured its international competitiveness using the International Market Share Index, the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index, Trade competitiveness index and calculated the international competitiveness and analyzed the influencing factors of grain export by constructing an extended gravity model and measured its export potential. Results showed that Kazakhstan has a low share of the international grain market; however, wheat, barley, and buckwheat have strong export advantages; the level of economic development and economic distance has significantly promoted the scale of grain exports. While geographical distance, the difference in GDP per capita, and the fact whether trading partner countries have joined the Eurasian Economic Union have caused obstacles to grain exports. Kazakhstan’s export potential to 6 countries including Russia, Kyrgyzstan and China shows an upward” trend, its export potential to 6 countries including Tajikistan and Ukraine showing a “stable” trend, and its export to 9 countries included Poland and Germany. The potential showed a “declining” trend.

Export Performance of Agricultural and Allied Products: A Study of the North-Eastern Region of India

The North-eastern Region of India, an agrarian economy, is rich in agricultural produce and contributes highly to the region's GDP. After the launch of the Act East Policy, the opportunity to capture the world market has enlarged and many export houses are registered in the region. As the government is emphasizing trade and commerce more, it becomes important to know the performance of the export houses of the region. The study has determined the comparative advantage of the agricultural products of the region in the country’s export basket using the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index and revealed the export performance of the region using the Average Annual Growth Rate and Compound Annual Growth Rate and showed the trend and growth of the value and quantity of exports. The study revealed that the agricultural products of the North-eastern Region have an advantage in the export of the country and growth is minimum but positive post the launching of Act East Policy.

A Study on the International Competitiveness of Korea and China in Service Trade

Purpose This study compares and analyzes the trends in service trade between Korea and China by analyzing the RCA index, SRCA index, and TSI index. Design/Methodology/Approach For this analysis using the UN Comtrade DB, the service trade in 11 sectors was analyzed using Extended Balance of Payments Services (EBOPS) 2002 between Korea and China for 8 years (2010 to 2018). The comparative advantage was measured by calculating the present comparative advantage index (RCA), the revealed symmetric comparative advantage (SRCA), and the trade specialization index (TSI). Then, the level of competition was measured by analyzing the export competition (ESI) of the service sectors between Korea and China. Findings In Korea and China, the transportation and construction sectors, which are highly related to manufacturing, have relatively high international competitiveness; however, international competitiveness is weakening in other service trade sectors. Research Implications In the case of royalties and license fees, if international competitiveness is weakened, as product exports increase, the size of the service deficit in that sector will inevitably increase. Accordingly, it should be human investment related to infrastructure construction and human education, such as royalties and license fees.

Çelik Sektöründe Rekabet Gücünün Karşılaştırmalı Analizi: Çelik Üreten İlk 10 Ülke Örneği

Besides being one of the most developed sectors in Turkey, the steel sector is an important sector that contributes to the country's economy. In this study, it is aimed to analyze the competitiveness of steel exports of the top 10 steel-producing countries. In this context, the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index, the Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) index and the Trade Balance Index (TBI) were calculated. In addition, in this study, a production mapping was created by using the combination of TBI and RSCA index values of the top 10 steelproducing countries. Finally, the Comparative Export Performance Index (CEP) has been calculated for Turkey's exports of finished and semi-finished steel products to countries (China, India, Japan, Russia) that have a comparative advantage according to the result of RCA analysis. The findings obtained in the study show that Turkey is an important country in the world trade in the finished and semi-finished steel sectors. It has been observed that Turkey is in an advantageous position in every index calculated in the steel industry.

Export Competitiveness of Dry Onion with Reference to India

"The purpose of the study is to examine the export competitiveness of onion with reference to India. In India, exports are allowed only after domestic requirements are met, due to which there arise year-to-year export fluctuations. Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA) and Comparative Export Performance Index (CEP) are used to examine export competitiveness. The study reveals that India has comparative advantage in export of onion as compared to other major exporting nations followed by The Netherlands and Egypt. The performance index of India shows rise of Indian onion in world market, as the value of CEP index is decreasing for other exporting nations."