The paper explores alternative measures of competitiveness that utilize trade information. The preference for trade-based measures owes to the fact that trade data are easier to obtain (and more regularly compiled) compared to firm- or industry-level information. The authors applied these measures to Philippine manufacturing to assess the sector's performance during the period 1991-1995. Their benchmark is the conventional measure of competitiveness - Revealed Comparative Advantage - which we compare with non-conventional measures obtained from shift-share analysis and constant market share analysis. The latter measures decompose observed growth into relevant factors such as changes in demand, industrial structure and resource allocation, and thus isolate the component of growth that can be ascribed to a change in competitive position.
