Authors

1 Assistant Professor in Economics, Shahid Chamran University

2 Graduate student in economics

Abstract

This paper analyzes the industrial activities and their actual comparative advantages in Khuzestan province using two digits ISIC cods and DRC criterion for the period 1377-82 (1998-2003). The results show that international competitiveness of industrial activities has been improved since 1381, the time of implementation of exchange rate unification and relative economic liberalization policies in Iran.
   This paper also suggests a simple decomposition of DRC measure to isolate the determinant elements of international competitiveness of some industrial activities under consideration. These elements are: (1) government intervention in economy, (2) factor cost, (3) factor proportions and (4) total factor productivity. The results imply that alleviation of the size of government interventions in economy has the most important role in improving the competitiveness of industrial activities in most cases.

Keywords