We identify those sectors of the South African economy in which the country exhibits a comparative advantage. This is accomplished through the development of an index of Regional Revealed Comparative Advantage, based in the work of Richardson and Zhang (2001). South Africa's comparative advantage is associated with products servicing producers and high in capital intensity.
The pattern of comparative advantage in South Africa differs from those patterns found to be typical of “developing countries in general, and from those describing the “flying geese” dynamic changes of East Asian NICs as well as other Asian countries.
An important contribution of this paper is a demonstration of a high degree of compatibility of projected shifts in competitiveness patterns developed utilizing (solely) trade data and RRCA methodology with patterns developed (solely) utilizing relative unit labor measures.
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