Publications (3)0 Total impact
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Article: AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD TRADE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE: THE CASE OF SLOVENIAN INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE
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ABSTRACT: One of the striking features in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries is the deterioration of their agricultural and food trade balance during transition to a market economy as imports increased faster than exports or exports even declined. This paper investigates the Slovenian agricultural and food trade in more detail focusing on changes in the geographical distribution of trade and the nature of trade specialization on the basis of the Grubel-Lloyd Intra-Industry Trade index and Marginal Intra-Industry Trade Indices. The results indicate that Slovenian agricultural and food trade largely remains of the inter-industry type with specialisation of exports towards the former Yugoslav markets and imports from the European Union. The proportion of intra-industry trade was especially low for bulk commodities with little or no processing. A major explanations for these findings is that despite the "free" trade agreements Slovenia signed with the EU and countries of Central and Eastern Europe the level of protection in the agricultural and food sector has remained rather high. Due to EU membership Slovenia faces now direct competition in a market of 25 countries. This intensifies the restructuring process in the Slovenian agricultural and food sector. Due to the present low level of IIT this likely induces rather high adjustment costs since restructuring and reallocation of factors will have to occur between and not within industries. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG DER HANDEL MIT AGRAR- UND ERNÄHRUNGSGÜTERN DER MITTEL- UND OSTEUROPÄISCHEN LÄNDER – SLOVENIENS INTRA-INDUSTRIELLER HANDEL Eine der bemerkenswertesten Entwicklungen im Transformationsprozess der mittel- und osteuropäischen Länder ist die Verschlechterung ihrer Agrarhandelsbilanz als Folge rasanter steigender Importe als Exporte oder aufgrund sinkender Exporte bei stagnierenden oder steigenden Importen. Gegenstand der vorliegenden Studie ist eine detaillierte Analyse von Veränderungen in der geographischen Verteilung des Handels als auch in der Art der Handelsspezialisierung in Hinblick auf den slowenischen Agrar- und Ernährungshandel. Die Analyse der Art der Handelsspezialisierung erfolgt auf Basis des Grubel-Lloyd Intra-Industriellen Handelsindex sowie Marginaler Intra-Industrieller Handelsindizes. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Sloweniens Handel mit Agrar- und Ernährungsgütern nach wie vor primär inter-industrieller Natur ist. Dabei erweist sich die EU als wichtigstes Herkunftsland für die Importe Sloweniens, wogegen die Exporte des Landes vorrangig auf den Märkten des früheren Jugoslawiens abgesetzt werden. Intra-industrielle Handelsströme sind vor allem unbedeutend für landwirtschaftliche Produkte mit geringer oder keiner Verarbeitung. Eine wesentliche Erklärung für diese Resultate ist, dass trotz des Abschlusses verschiedener "Freihandelsabkommen" mit der EU und Ländern Mittel- und Osteuropas das Protektionsniveau für Agrar- und Ernährungsgüter nach wie vor sehr hoch ist. Als Mitglied der Europäischen Union sieht sich Slowenien nun unmittelbar dem Wettbewerb in einem Markt von 25 Ländern ausgesetzt. Dies wird den Restrukturierungsprozess im slowenischen Agrar- und Ernährungssektor verstärken. Auf Grund der geringen Bedeutung intra-industrieller Handelsströme wird dies zur Restrukturierung und zur Reallokation von Faktoren zwischen und nicht innerhalb von Branchen führen und damit relativ hohe Anpassungskosten induzieren.02/2004; -
Article: Agricultural and food trade in Central and Eastern Europe: the case of Slovenian intra-industry trade
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ABSTRACT: In this paper we examine the impact of membership in Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) on trade between PTA members. Rather than considering the impact of PTA membership on the volume of trade we consider the impact of membership on the structure of trade. For a large sample of countries over the period 1962-2000 we find that membership in a PTA is associated with an increase in the extent of intra-industry trade. In addition, we find that the effect of PTA membership on IIT is larger when a PTA is formed between two developed countries.Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO), IAMO Discussion Papers. 01/2004; -
Article: Convergence of food consumption patterns between Eastern and Western Europe
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ABSTRACT: This paper is a first attempt to analyze whether convergence of food consumption between Eastern and Western Europe since the beginning of transition can be detected. The study refers to the 10 EU-associated Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) and the EU-15. If convergence is a fact, changes in EU food consumption could be a useful indicator for future food consumption patterns in the CEECs. With the end of the socialist era, prices and income have become major determinants of food consumption and the total per capita calorie consumption, as well as the calorie share of animal products, have declined in most CEECs. At the same time, many products that could not be purchased in the past have become available, trade has risen significantly, and foreign direct investment in the food industry and in the distribution sector of the CEECs has become increasingly relevant. This has triggered demonstration effects that suggest convergence of food consumption. Empirical studies on convergence focus either on cross-country comparisons of general trends in food consumption, or they seek to explicitly measure the degree of similarity of the consumption structures and convergence in the structure of food consumption. This paper analyzes convergence in the consumption levels, as well as the structure of food consumption. For this purpose, several indicators have been calculated and pooled regression analyses have been run. The results give a first indication that convergence has occurred, although this does not hold for all CEECs or all food commodities. -- G E R M A N V E R S I O N: In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, ob seit Transformationsbeginn eine Konvergenz des Nahrungsmittelverbrauchs zwischen Ost- und Westeuropa zu beobachten ist. Die Analyse bezieht sich auf die 10 mit der EU assoziierten mittel- und osteurop�ischen L�nder (MOEL) und die EU-15. Falls Konvergenz des Nahrungsmittelverbrauchs festzustellen ist, k�nnte die Entwicklung des Nahrungsmittelkonsums iLeibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO), IAMO Discussion Papers. 01/1998;
