Comparative Advantage: Theory and Application to Developing Country Agriculture

Abstract

This paper investigates the application of the principle of comparative advantage to policy analysis and policy formulation. It is concerned with both the theory and the measurement of comparative advantage. Despite its central role in economics, the theory is found to be at an impasse, with its usefulness confined mainly to the illustration of economic principles which in practice are not borne out by the evidence. The considerable methodological problems associated with the measurement of comparative advantage are highlighted in the paper. Attempts to derive indicators of comparative such as those associated with revealed comparative advantage, resource cost, cost and trade studies are reviewed. These methods are enlightening, but are unable to provide general perspectives which allow an analysis of dynamic comparative advantage. Comparative despite its centrality to economics, remains remote from policy ... Cet ouvrage s'interesse a l'application du principe de comparatif a l'analyse et l'expansion politiques, a fois sur plan de theorie et sur celui de mesure de comparatif. Malgre son role essentiel en economie, cette notion se trouve dans une impasse puisqu'elle sert surtout a illustrer des principes economiques qui, dans pratique, ne paraissent pas evidents. Les difficiles problemes methodologiques lies a mesure de comparatif sont donc mis en lumiere. L'etude passe en revue les tentatives de definition d'indicateurs de comparatif, par exemple les travaux sur l'avantage comparatif revele, le cout direct de ressources, le cout de production et la liberalisation des echanges. Malgre leur pertinence, ces methodes restent cependant incapables d'apporter une perspective d'ensemble susceptible de concourir a l'analyse de comparatif dynamique, lequel, en depit de sa place centrale dans les theories ...

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