Open AccessMeasuring Inter-Industry Competitive Advantage and Performance of Lesotho's Export Sector
Author(s) -
Macleans Mzumara
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
review of economics and development studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2519-9706
pISSN - 2519-9692
DOI - 10.26710/reads.v2i1.131
Subject(s) - competitive advantage , business , product (mathematics) , revealed comparative advantage , comparative advantage , industrial organization , commerce , international trade , marketing , mathematics , geometry
The author investigated inter-industry competitive advantage andperformance of Lesotho's export sector. The results show competitivenessin Lesotho varies from one industry to the other. Textiles industry is themost competitive in Lesotho with 165 product lines which has revealedcomparative advantage of equal or greater than 1. It is followed bymiscellaneous industry with a demonstrated competitiveness in 35 productlines. The least competitive industries in Lesotho were found to be footwear/head gear and wood and wood products both with only 4 product lines.The following industries in Lesotho performed badly and have nocomparative advantage at all: animal and animal products; raw hides, skinsleather and furs; plastic and rubber; chemical and allied industries; foodstuffs; and mineral products. Although Lesotho has competitive advantagein textiles industry, it is also very vulnerable due to over-reliance on a singleindustry. There is a need to diversify through attracting foreign directinvestment that will also usher in improvement in competitiveness acrossindustries.