Revealed comparative Advantage: An Analysis Based on Leading Exports of Sri Lanka

Abstract

This paper examines the competitiveness of sri Lanka's leading exports in the international market by using Revealed Comparative Advantage index (RCA) and Revealed symmetric Comparative Advantage index (RSCA) from 200g to 2015. The empiricit*.results show that the export sector has changed during the last eight years and sri Lankt enjoys the comparative advantage in 35 product categories at standard International Trade classification (sITC) i digit level, while it is dominated by traditional industries and goods which are produced using standard tecltniques and are cltaracterised by rower cost of researclt and development. sri Lanka does not enjoy comparative advantage in other types of products which are characterized by higher research and development requirement.