Intra-Industry Trade and Competitiveness of the New EU Member States

The issues discussed in the monograph are characterised by practical and scientific significance. The analysis carried out by the author is important not only from the point of view of theory, but primarily from the point of view of international commercial practices, in this case intra-industry trade. It is also useful for comparative analyses of the relationship between economies and industries. The study is also important for Poland. The possibilities of intensifying trade with EU partners have clearly increased due to Poland’s participation in the Single European Market. Changes in the economic structure, including, in particular, the modernisation and development of the processing industry, made the Polish economy a good candidate not only to take part in intra-industry exchange, but also to intensify it. prof. dr hab. Elżbieta Czarny (from review) The results of analyses regarding the interrelationship between the intensity of intra-industry trade and the international competitiveness of economies, in particular the new Member States of the European Union (EU-10) against the background of the competitiveness of the “old” EU (EU-15) economies, are rarely presented. The topic of the monograph is important from a practical and scientific point of view. The author presented a new insight and valuable input to the discussion on how to measure competitiveness and the scale of adaptation of economies in the process of liberalisation within the Single European Market. dr hab. Edward Molendowski, prof. UEK (from review)

Spis treści

List of abbreviations 9 Introduction 11 Economic competitiveness and intra-industry trade 11 Research objectives and hypotheses 14 Research methods 14 Composition of the publication 15 Data source 17 Contribution to scientific research 19 1. International economic competitiveness – theoretical aspects 21 1.1. Introductory remarks 21 1.2. Economic competitiveness theory fundamentals 22 1.2.1. The substance and importance of the competitiveness of the national economy and the evolution of economic thought and theory 22 1.2.2. Elements of the international competitive ability of a country – analysis of interrelations 26 1.2.3. Evolution of the definition of international competitiveness of countries 28 1.3. Measures of international competitiveness and international competitive positions of economies 32 1.3.1. Competitiveness modelling – selected methodological aspects 32 1.3.2. Factors of international competitiveness 33 1.3.3. Classification and assessment of the main measures of international competitiveness and competitive positions of economies 36 1.4. Summary 40 2. Intra-industry trade in the light of theories of international trade 43 2.1. Introductory remarks 43 2.2. Fundamentals of the intra-industry trade theory 46 2.3. Causes of intra-industry trade intensification 48 2.4. Benefits of the development of intra-industry trade 51 2.5. Methods of measurement of intra-industry trade 52 2.5.1. Traditional measures of intra-industry trade 52 2.5.2. Dynamic analysis – marginal intra-industry trade 56 2.5.3. Three trade types – a complementary approach to methods of analysing two-way trade flows 58 2.5.4. Separation of inter- and intra-industry trade flows 59 2.6. Regional liberalisation of trade and intra-industry division of labour 64 2.6.1. Intensity of intra-industry trade and trade liberalisation 64 2.6.2. Structural changes as a result of trade liberalisation and intra-industry specialisation 66 2.6.3. The role of two-way trade in the convergence of integrating economies 68 2.6.4. Intra-industry trade and deep economic integration of CEE countries – a review of the most important studies 70 2.7. Summary 76 3. Trends in the foreign trade of the EU-10 in 2004–2015 78 3.1. Introductory remarks 78 3.2. The main changes of foreign trade conditions resulting from EU accession 78 3.3. The growing role of foreign trade in EU-10 economies 81 3.4. Main trends in the dynamics of foreign trade of the EU-10 in 2004–2015 85 3.6. Similarity of EU-10 export and import structures in relations with the EU-15 and in mutual trade 90 3.6.1. Exports 91 3.6.2. Imports 94 3.7. Specialisation and concentration of exports and imports of NMS 97 3.8. Summary 103 4. Changes in the economic competitiveness of NMS after accession on the basis of intra-industry trade indices 104 4.1. Introductory remarks 104 4.2. Changes in the intensity of intra-industry trade 105 4.3. Intra-industry trade in relations with the main groups of partners 107 4.4. Changes in the structure of intra-industry trade by type 111 4.5. Indices of intra-industry trade in final goods and intermediaries 114 4.6. Summary 117 5. Intra-industry competitiveness of NMS by industry 120 5.1. Introductory remarks 120 5.2. Structure of intra-industry trade in manufactured goods 121 5.2.1. Machinery and transport equipment 121 5.2.2. Other manufactured goods 127 5.2.3. Chemicals 131 5.3. Intra-industry trade in manufactured goods in categories based on technology intensity 134 5.4. Structure of intra-industry trade in primary commodities 139 5.4.1. Food, beverages and tobacco 139 5.4.2. Energy products (i.e. mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials) 142 5.4.3. Raw materials 145 5.5. Summary 146 6. Conclusion and final remarks 149 6.2. Recommendations for further research 155 List of tables 157 List of charts 160 List of figures 162 Bibliography 163 Bibliography – electronic documents 185 Websites 187 Statistical Annex 189