The paper analyses the evolution of the trade specialisation pattern in the ten countries which will join the EU in 2004, by studying the dynamics of their comparative advantages over the period 1993-2000. The study finds that, although some countries are still broadly relying on natural resources, most of them enjoy significant comparative advantages in many manufactured goods. Moreover, in spite of large technological gaps inherited from the long period of centrally planned economy, some were able to specialise in "high tech" products. Finally, most countries recorded large specialisation improvements in items for which the world demand expanded at the fastest rate over the Nineties; in particular, Estonia, Hungary, Malta and Slovenia showed an overall positive comparative advantage in the set of the most demanded products. JEL Classification: F14; F15; E23.
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Paper provided by European Central Bank in its series Working Paper Series with number
249.
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Andrea Brasili & Paolo Epifani & Rodolfo Helg, 2000.
"On the Dynamics of Trade Patterns,"
CESPRI Working Papers
115, CESPRI, Centre for Research on Innovation and Internationalisation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy, revised Jul 2000.
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