REVEALED COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE OF TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH IN THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKET

Abstract

This paper attempts to investigate the long-term patterns of revealed comparative advantage of the textile and clothing industry of Bangladesh among leading textile and clothing exporting nations in the North American market. A revealed comparative advantage index is employed to evaluate the comparative advantage of the top 5 competitors in the North American market over 38 years period. The analyze results exhibit tremendous ups and downs of comparative advantage of the selected competitors during 1980-2017 in North American textile and clothing market. In overall analysis during the mentioned period, it shows that Bangladesh revealed the highest comparative advantage over the selected top 5 competitors in the market. Established trade theories remain a useful but limited guide to understanding the dynamics of comparative advantage in the context of the changing global business environment and geopolitical transformation. Deeper understanding of the patterns of change could assist strategic planning for the concern stakeholder in the industry.