Changing scenario of export structures in India and China: A comparative framework of analysis through revealed comparative advantage Barua Rashmita, Hussain Shahnowaz Assistant Professor, Assam Don Bosco University, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Guwahati, Assam, India Online published on 9 August, 2013. Abstract This study tries to explore the competitiveness and patterns of trade through Revealed Comparative Advantage for India and China. Closer economic integration and increased factor mobility has greatly influenced the location of factors of production and thereby the dynamics of Comparative Advantage. The study showcases India's developmental efforts that it has made to liberalize its International Trade since 1991. And subsequently, it has been able to increase its competitiveness in the world market. This step is seen as a major restructuring tool of the economy, and as such, its exports reflect India's comparative advantage in the global economy. With the advent of many growing economies of the world which are showing a robust and sustainable growth, the focus has primarily shifted to the two Asian giants, China and India, which have emerged as economic powers and have clearly altered the trade and investment dynamics in Asia. Although the change is pertinent for both the economies, but it has created some concerns regarding loss of comparative advantage. It is therefore important to study and explore the extent of similarity and dissimilarity in the patterns of comparative advantage for the two economies. The first section of the paper provides an overview of broad trends of India’s and China#x2019;s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth rate and trade patterns with the world economy, from the period 2000–2011. Following this, export structures of the two economies is studied by calculating the comparative advantage on an individual basis. The analysis of comparative advantage is done through the use of Balassa (1965) Index of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA). The system has been calculated at the sector and commodity-level based on Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). Finally, a comparative framework is created comparing the results found by computing the RCA Index and Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient. Top Keywords Revealed Comparative Advantage, Liberalization, SITC, GDP, Exports, Merchandize. Top |