European Union Trade And Investment Flows U Shaping Industrial Output In Central And Eastern Europe Theory And Evidence

We examine industrial output in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania during 1989–95 in terms of pretransitional product trade orientation. The growth of EU-oriented output within sectors of industry, ex-post trade, and market liberalization, is modeled as foreign direct investment induced Schumpeterian (vertical) waves of product innovation. The growth of non-EU-oriented output within sectors is modeled as unobservable deterministic heterogeneity. The results indicate that the gap observed in industrial output performance when comparing Eastern European to former Soviet countries is mainly explained by the inherited presence of EU-oriented production and its unconstrained growth over the transition period.

We examine industrial output in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania during 1989-95 in terms of pretransitional product trade orientation. The growth of EU-oriented output within sectors of industry, ex-post trade, and market liberalization, is modeled as foreign direct investment induced Schumpeterian (vertical) waves of product innovation. The growth of non-EU-oriented output within sectors is modeled as unobservable deterministic heterogeneity. The results indicate that the gap observed in industrial output performance when comparing Eastern European to former Soviet countries is mainly explained by the inherited presence of EU-oriented production and its unconstrained growth over the transition period.

Industrial output in Central and Eastern Europe evolved in a U-Shape during the first seven years of transition. The literature explains the initial collapse of industrial output as an inefficient outcome driven by supply side distortions that constrain the transition process. We show that the U-Shape experience of industrial sectors is an outcome driven by an intra-sector change, induced by investment demand shocks, in the market orientation of production away from products traditionally sold into the CMEA market and towards products traditionally sold into the EU market. This revisionist view has important implications for policy formation.

This volume explores the changes in Central and Eastern Europe on trade and investment flows in Europe from three approaches: cross-sectional studies of the likely long-run comparative advantage of the CEECs; the impact of opening up to the East on individual countries (France, Spain, and Greece); and the specific 'sensitive' sectors of steel and textiles.

Presents the alternatives for economic transition and integration in central and eastern Europe

A combination of rigorous analysis and case material; this book is an essential guide to trade and industry developments in Central and Eastern Europe. Its scope encompasses globalization, the business strategies of MNCs, agriculture, services and the dynamics of innovation. It also considers the trading relationships of these countries with Russia as well as the influence of trade on the democratization of states formerly belonging to the USSR.

The latest wave of European Union expansion has brought many central and Eastern European countries into the fold. Unlike previous enlargements however, the latest new members are also undergoing radical economic reform as they reintegrate into international economy.This book reviews the changing industrial architecture of the new wider Europe from

This book examines the evolution of trade and trade patterns in Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) and assesses the implications of these patterns on structural change and economic development within transition economies. Taking the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 as a starting point, the authors discuss the transition of former communist CEE countries from centrally planned to market-driven economies, arguing that trade was the primary engine for the economic growth and transition process they experienced. The chapters in this book incorporate the results of previous studies – some of which are based on original research conducted by the authors – dedicated to the integration process of international and European trade. More importantly, the authors look at the broader aspects of structural change and economic development, indeed the whole process of economic transformation. Thus, the book moves well beyond the core ‘trade and growth’ framework to look at technological progress, foreign investment, institutional development and structural change in Central and Eastern European countries.