REVISITING THE ACCURACY OF RICARDIAN THEORY OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE IN AFRICA IN THE 21ST CENTURY: AN EMPIRICAL VERIFICATION
Keywords:
Comparative Advantage, Economic Growth, International Trade , Ricardian TheoryAbstract
This paper empirically examined the accuracy of Ricardian theory of comparative advantage in Africa in the twenty-first (21st) century using system GMM. The study used 52 African countries for the analysis covering 2001 to 2018. The study found that the Ricardian theory is theoretically plausible but lacks strong empirical evidence in Africa. The study finding implies that international trade is beneficial but African countries have not significantly benefitted from the trade. Based on the finding, the study recommends that the African countries should re-strategise their economies towards improving their export commodities relatively higher than the value of their imports commodities that could even stand competitive at the global market. This could create a basis for comparative cost advantage thereby increasing foreign earnings that could contribute positively to economic growth and in turn create domestic jobs for the region. The African countries should also ease of the complex and cumbersome border procedural requirements and other forms of institutional trade costs found in African economies.