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Competitiveness of Latvia's exporters

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  • Konstantīns Beņkovskis

    (Monetary Policy Department, Bank of Latvia)

Abstract

This paper evaluates the competitiveness of Latvia's exporters from various aspects by using detailed trade data from UN Comtrade. Competitiveness represented by the market share of Latvia's products in world trade was on a rising trend, growing almost two times between 1999 and 2010. This dynamic improvement was mainly accounted for by intensive margin, as Latvia's exporters increased their presence on traditional markets. Moreover, the contribution of extensive margin was also positive due to geographical expansion. Analysis of non-price competitiveness signals that although Latvia's export unit values were increasing faster than those of its main competitors, relative quality and taste for Latvia's products were rising even faster, and, overall, the competitiveness of Latvia's exporters improved.

Suggested Citation

  • Konstantīns Beņkovskis, 2012. "Competitiveness of Latvia's exporters," Baltic Journal of Economics, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies, vol. 12(2), pages 17-45, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bic:journl:v:12:y:2012:i:2:p:17-45
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ieva Brauksa & Ludmila Fadejeva, 2013. "Internal Labour Market Mobility in 2005-2011: The Case of Latvia," Working Papers 2013/02, Latvijas Banka.
    2. Arnis Sauka, 2014. "Measuring the competitiveness of Latvian companies," Baltic Journal of Economics, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies, vol. 14(1-2), pages 140-158, December.
    3. Falkowski Krzysztof, 2018. "Competitiveness of the Baltic States in International High-Technology Goods Trade," Comparative Economic Research, Sciendo, vol. 21(1), pages 25-43, March.
    4. Talis J. Putninš, 2013. "Exporting by Latvian companies: vitality, drivers of success, and challenges," Baltic Journal of Economics, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies, vol. 13(2), pages 3-33, December.
    5. Olivier Blanchard & Mark Griffiths & Bertrand Gruss, 2013. "Boom, Bust, Recovery Forensics of the Latvia Crisis," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 47(2 (Fall)), pages 325-388.
    6. Olivier Blanchard & Mark Griffiths & Bertrand Gruss, 2013. "Boom, Bust, Recovery: Forensics of the Latvia Crisis," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 44(2 (Fall)), pages 325-388.
    7. Wörz, Julia & Benkovskis, Konstantins & Silgoner, Maria & Steiner, Katharina, 2013. "Crowding-out or co-existence? the competitive position of EU members and China in global merchandise trade," Working Paper Series 1617, European Central Bank.
    8. Zuzana Smidova, 2015. "Policy areas for increasing productivity in Latvia," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1255, OECD Publishing.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    exports; extensive margin; intensive margin; non-price competitiveness; Latvia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality

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