Comparative Advantage: Theory, Empirical Measures And Case Studies

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.Revealed Comparative Advantage, Trade Balance, Products Mapping.

Studies in Trade and Investment - AGRICULTURAL TRADE - PLANTING THE SEEDS OF REGIONAL LIBERALIZATION IN ASIA

this chapter maps the agricultural trade liberalization efforts of the South Asian Economies (SAEs).agricultural trade, South Asian Economies

Customs Mapping and Analysis of South Asian Agricultural Trade Liberalization Effort

This paper maps the agricultural trade liberalization effort of the South Asian Economies(SAEs) and it consists of four sections. The second section presents the nature of agricultural trade in the SAEs. The third section presents the agricultural policy changes and employs various approaches to measure the levels of agricultural trade liberalization. The forth section presents institutional development that has led to agricultural trade liberalization of SAEs and the final section presents conclusions, based on the findings of the previous sections.South Asia, Agricultural Trade Liberalization

Agriculture diversification in South Asia

The South Asian countries are gradually diversifying with some inter-country variation in favor of high value commodities, namely fruits, vegetables, livestock and fisheries. Agricultural diversification is strongly influenced by price policy, infrastructure development (especially markets and roads), urbanization and technological improvements. Rainfed areas have benefited more as a result of agricultural diversification in favor of high value crops by substituting inferior coarse cereals. Agricultural diversification is also contributing to employment opportunities in agriculture and increasing exports. The need is to suitably integrate production and marketing of high value commodities through appropriate institutions. Market reforms in developing and strengthening desired institutions through required legal changes would go a long way in boosting agricultural growth, augmenting income of small farm holders and promoting exports.Agricultural diversification Economic aspects ,price policies ,Urbanization ,Technological innovations ,South Asia Economic conditions ,Markets Economic policy ,Agricultural growth ,

Thinking in Islands; the Portuguese Perception of the Indonesian Archipelago and Particularly of Sunda in Early Texts and Charts

This article discusses various early sources on the Indonesian archipelago. It starts with the status of knowledge before the first voyage of the Portuguese to the Moluccas from accounts of travellers to insular Southeast Asia in the Middle Ages and the picture on world maps European cartographers produced. Comparing that view with text sources and the resulting geographic material of the first expeditions by the Portuguese provides an insight into contemporary mechanisms of knowledge transfer. Certain effects can be traced and are repeated on different levels of access to the original facts mainly because most maps were drawn up in Europe but based on the geographic description provided by text accounts. An abundance and multiplication of failures and mistakes is evident and is partly related to the scarcity of sources and due to reproduction techniques

Growth in high-value export markets in sub-Saharan Africa and its development implications.

During the past decades the global food system changed dramatically with increased trade in high-value food products, increased exports from developing countries, increased consolidation and dominance of large multinational food companies, and increased proliferation of public and private food standards. As a consequence, global food trade is increasingly organised around vertically coordinated supply chains rather than around spot market transactions. While there is consensus that these structural changes are profoundly changing the way food is produced and traded, there is no consensus on the overall welfare implications of increased high-value food exports and supply chain restructuring in poor countries. In this paper we discuss the income and poverty implications of expanded horticulture exports and changing supply chain structures for rural households in Sub- Saharan African exporting countries. We put together the economic arguments; distinguish different channels through which rural households are affected; provide evidence from three comparative case-studies on high-value horticulture exports; and derive implications for policy makers, private investors, and the development aid community.

Mapping Preferential Trade in Asia and the Pacific: Introducing the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment

The paper addresses preferential trade agreements in Asia and the Pacific with the objective of identifying their characteristics, which can be useful in assessing the effects of their implementation. The paper relies mostly on the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Agreement Database (APTIAD) in sourcing data and information for analysis. On 26 February 2007 APTIAD was tracking 125 preferential trade agreements one party of which was a member of ESCAP. Eighty seven of those agreements of various types are in force, 62 of them being bilateral agreements, 11 regional trade agreements (RTAs), and 11 agreements between country and bloc (the residual is made up of agreements of different scope, e.g. global, and country-plurilateral, etc.). The paper utilizes factual information on membership and coverage of agreements as well as statistical data on goods trade flows in discussing selected important aspects of preferential trade in Asia and the Pacific. (a) the rapid proliferation of preferential trade and revealed preference for bilateral links; (b) strong tolerance for an engagement in multiple trade agreements with the same trading partner; and (c) reluctance to commit to full and quick liberalization in merchandise trade, and expose other trade areas apart from goods to preferential liberalization. Penultimate section discusses ways in which PTAs could be harnessed to work as complementary with the multilateral trade regime. Paper offers some policy recommendations in area of preferential trade negotiation.preferential trade, multilateral liberalization, bilateral trade agreements, regional trade agreements, Asia, Pacific, APTIAD

Maritime Indonesia and the Archipelagic Outlook; Some Reflections From a Multidisciplinary Perspective on Old Port Cities in Java

The present paper reflects on Indonesia\u27s status as an archipelagic state and a maritime nation from a historical perspective. It explores the background of a multi-year research project into Indonesia\u27s maritime past currently being undertaken at the Humanities Faculty of Universitas Indonesia. The multidisciplinary research uses toponymy, epigraphy, philology, and linguistic lines of analysis in examining old inscriptions and manuscripts and also includes site visits to a number of old port cities across the archipelago. We present here some of the core concepts behind the research such as the importance of the ancient port cities in a network of maritime trade and diplomacy, and link them to some contemporary issues such as the Archipelagic Outlook. This is based on a concept of territorial integrity that reflects Indonesia\u27s national identity and aspirations. It is hoped that the paper can extend the discussion about efforts to make maritime affairs a strategic geopolitical goal along with restoring Indonesia\u27s identity as a maritime nation

Agro-industrial development and sustainability in Bangladesh-A study

A study was conducted to know the current state of development sustainability of the agroindustrial sector in terms of its product diversity, export volume, export value, destination of the product by region and country. A structured questionnaire was prepared to do the random sampling survey and focused group discussion also held with the relevant stakeholder in agro-industrial sphere. The study revealed that in terms of value, the highest exported agro processed product is spices 21.46 million US$(25$ 70.13 million. In terms of export value, the major destination of Bangladesh agro-processed product is Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(KSA) which amount is 20.2 million US$. In terms of export in weight, the major destination of Bangladesh agro-processed product is India (24372.88 metric ton).Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 5 (2): 37-43, December, 201

Scientometrics of Indian crop science research as reflected by the coverage inScopus, CABI and ISA databases during 2008-2010

The paper analyses scientific output of India in the discipline of crop sciences as reflected by the coverage of scientificoutput in three different databases i.e. SCOPUS, CAB Abstracts and ISA (Indian Science Abstracts) during 2008-2010. Theanalysis indicates that highest number of papers was published on rice and wheat crop. Agricultural universities andinstitutions under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) were most productive institutions. Most ofthe papers were published in Indian journals with low impact factor. Environment and Ecology, Indian Journal ofAgricultural Sciences and Research on Crops were the most preferred journals used by the Indian scientists. The majorresearch is focused on ‘genetics and plant breeding’ followed by ‘soil, climate and environmental aspects’ and ‘agronomicaspects’. The authorship pattern reveals that co-authored papers accounted for 72% of total output