The intensification of foreign trade in post-socialist countries and their role in global value chains

Abstract

This article presents the transformation of foreign trade in 10 post-socialist countries, current members of the EU. Special focus is given to the more significant role these countries began to play in global value chains (GVCs) as a result of liberalisation processes and integration within the EU. In addition, the article evaluates their place in global vertical specialisation. To locate each country on a global value chain and to compare them with selected countries, more complex methods of measuring the level of participation of European post-socialist countries in GVCs were employed. These methods allow the position of a country downstream or upstream in GVCs to be established. We concluded that (a) post-socialist countries differ in the levels of their participation in GVCs. Countries that have stronger links with Western European countries, especially with Germany, are more integrated; (b) a large share of post-socialist countries’ exports pass through Western European GVCs; (c) most exporters in Central and Eastern Europe are positioned in downstream segments of production rather than upstream markets.

Looking for the sectoral interdependence: evidence from the Visegrad countries and China

“…In order to analyze the transformation of foreign trade in the V4 states and to follow their paths of participation in GVCs we employed the methodology described more precisely in another paper (Cieślik et al 2016). Generally, among the many measures we decided to use a multi-regional IO model, which is a combination of approaches introduced by Hummels et al (2001), Johnson and Noguera (2012), Timmer et al (2012) and Koopman et al (2014).…”

“…It means that the V4 states might be treated as an insignificant and 'ad hoc' partner for China and could be replaced anytime. Furthermore, it implies that the V4 states' role in the Chinese GVCs is not as strong as their role in the EU's GVCs and that they presumably operate in the lower market segments generally (Cieślik et al 2016).…”

“…Since the early 1990s, the Visegrad Group (V4) member countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) has undergone transformations in many dimensions. One of the transformation priorities was the reorientation of foreign trade to the Western Europe first (Brada 1991;Arghyrou 2000;Augier et al 2005;Rynarzewski 2013;Cieślik et al 2016) and recently to China.…”

Comparative Analysis of Foreign Trade in Selected European Countries

“…Some of them are analysing international trade from more theoretical point of view, for example Broda & Weinstein (2006), Chen & Juvenal (2018), Cernohlavkova et al (2013), Do & Levchenko (2007), Do, Levchenko & Raddatz (2016), Ready, Roussanov & Ward (2017), or Vannoorenberghe (2014). The other authors are using more global point of view, such as Baier, Bergrstrand & Feng (2014), Cieslik, Bieganska & Sroda-Murawska (2016), Cieslik, Bieganska & Sroda-Murawska (2016), Colantone & Sleuwaegen (2010), Gnangnon (2018), McCalman (2018), Reimer (2006), Samarina et al (2015), or Yanase & Tawada (2017). Other authors are analysing role of companies in foreign trade or the impact of foreign trade on companies, like Bergstrand & Egger (2007), Ellis (2003), Fracasso & Marzetti (2015), Helpman, Melitz & Rubinstein (2008), Levchenko (2007), Niepmann & Schmidt-Eisenlohr (2017), or Oh, Travis Selmier & Lien (2011).…”

Evaluation of Trends in Foreign Trade Development in the Post-Communist Countries of Europe in the Years 2000–2012 Following their Accession to the EU

“…As full partners in the Single European Market, they had to basically redefine the rules governing their foreign trade and to adopt all laws and instruments of the EU's trade policy towards third countries (Kawecka-Wyrzykowska 2009, Cieślik et al 2016. The adoption of the EU legislation on the free movement of goods amounted to the abolishment of customs duties and similar charges, the revocation of quotas and anti-dumping laws, as well as the removal of all physical, technical and fiscal barriers that had been used to control cross-border traffic.…”