Furthermore, without rigorous productivityenhancing
investment and acquisition of skills,
technology and knowledge, the revealed
comparative advantage of many African economies
remained static throughout the period. Based on
either mineral resources or agriculture, specializing
in primary commodity exports inherited from the
colonial era, their relative endowment structures
have not undergone fundamental changes since
independence. The pattern of their integration into
the global economy has therefore been shaped
by their static comparative advantages in relative
resource endowments.