Abstract
This paper reviews some of the developments in transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) with regard to international trade specialization and the evolving pattern of the division of labor in an enlarged European Union (EU) and the patterns of interindustry and intraindustry specialization of these transition economies in relation to the EU. It shows that quite significant changes occurred in the patterns of interindustry specialization from 1989 to 1998 with marked differences across the CEECs. This type of analysis is then extended to an examination of the positions of CEE producers in intrabranch “product quality” competition. Again, marked changes are found over time in the quality of their products exported to the EU and, again, marked differences across these countries. The paper then examines possible reasons for the change in international trade specialization of the more successful economies: by looking at the pattern of productivity and wage growth across industrial branches, it finds that the pattern of comparative advantages of some of the CEE economies turns away from the lower-tech/low-wage industries and toward medium-tech to high-tech industrial branches. It shows that the dynamics of comparative advantage, which rely on uneven productivity catching up and a wage drift across branches, were also typical for the pattern of catching up of other successful groups of catching-up economies (southern EU economies and Asian economies).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aiginger, K. (2000), “Europe’s Position in Quality Competition,” study commissioned by the European Commission, DG Enterprise, for the Competitiveness Report 2000.
Barro, R., and X. Sala-i-Martin (1995), Economic Growth (McGraw-Hill).
Barro, R., and X. Sala-i-Martin(1997), “Technological Diffusion, Convergence, and Growth,” Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 2, No. 1 (March), pp. 1–26.
Burgstaller, J., and M. Landesmann (1999), “Trade Performance of East European Producers on EU Markets: an Assessment of Product Quality,” The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), Research Reports, No. 255 (April).
Carlin, W., J. Van Reenen, and T. Wolfe (1997), “Enterprise Restructuring in the Transition: An Analytical Survey of the Case Study Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe,” EBRD, Working Paper 14, London.
Carlin, W., S. Estrin, and M. Shaffer (1999), “Measuring Progress in Transition Towards EU Accession: A Comparison of Manufacturing Firms in Poland, Romania and Spain,” EBRD, Working Paper 40, London.
Fontagné, L., and M. Freudenberg (1997), “Intra-industry Trade: Methodological Issues Reconsidered,” CEPII, Working Paper 97–1, Paris.
Friedman, M. (1992), “Do Old Fallacies Ever Die?” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 30, pp. 2129–132
Havlik, P. (1999), “Structural Change, Trade Specialization and Competitiveness of Manufacturing Industry in the CEECs,” Chap. 3 in Structural Developments in Central and Eastern Europe. WIIW Report 1999, ed. by M. Landesmann, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), Vienna.
Hunya, G. (1999), “Foreign Direct Investment in CEEC Manufacturing,” Chap. 5 in Structural Developments in Central and Eastern Europe. WIIW Report 1999, ed. by M. Landesmann, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), Vienna.
Hunya, G., and M. Landesmann (2000), “Industrial Competitiveness,” paper prepared for the Spring Seminar of The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW) (April), Vienna.
Jansen, M., and M. Landesmann (1999), “European Competitiveness: Quality Rather than Price,” in The Economic Challenge for Europe: Adapting to Innovation Based Growth, ed. by J. Fagerberg, P. Guerrieri, and B. Verspagen (Cheltenham: E. Elgar Publ.).
Landesmann, M. (1996), “The Pattern of East-West European Integration: Catching up or Falling Behind?” in Transforming Economies and European Integration, ed. by R. Dobrinsky and M. Landesmann (Cheltenham: E. Elgar Publ.)
Landesmann, M., and R. Stehrer (2000), “Industrial Specialization, Catching-Up and Labour Market Dynamics,” Metroeconomica, Vol. 51(1), pp. 67–101.
Landesmann, M., and D. Rosati (eds.) (2000), The Shape of the New Europe — The Economic Implications of EU Enlargement (Macmillan).
Markusen, J. R. (1983), “Factor Movements and Commodity Trade as Complements,” Journal of International Economics, Vol. 14, pp. 341–56.
Stehrer, R., M. Landesmann, and J. Burgstaller (1999), “Convergence Patterns at the Industrial Level: the Dynamics of Comparative Advantage,” The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), Working Paper No. 11.
Verspagen, B. (1992), “A New Empirical Approach to Catching Up or Falling Behind,” Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 359–80.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Landesmann, M.A. (2002). Trade Integration and Changing Trade Structures of Transition Economies. In: Tumpel-Gugerell, G., Wolfe, L., Mooslechner, P. (eds) Completing Transition: The Main Challenges. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04866-5_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04866-5_27
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07676-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-04866-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive