期刊名称：Euro Area Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Statistics
印刷版ISSN：1830-3420
电子版ISSN：1830-3439
出版年度：2008
卷号：1
出版社：European Central Bank
摘要：Against the background of increasing competition and other signifi cant structural changes implied by globalisation, maintaining and enhancing competitiveness has evolved into one of the prime concerns in most countries. Following up on previous work (see in particular ECB Occasional Papers No. 30 and No. 55), this Occasional Paper examines the latest developments and prospects for the competitiveness and trade performance of the euro area and the euro area countries. Starting from an analysis of most commonly used, traditional competitiveness indicators, the paper largely confi rms the fi ndings of previous studies that there have been substantial adjustments in euro area trade. Euro area fi rms have taken advantage of the new opportunities offered by globalisation, and have at the same time been increasingly challenged by emerging economies. This is primarily refl ected in the loss of export market shares which have been recorded over the last decade. While these can partly be related to the losses in the euro area’s price competitiveness, further adjustment also seems warranted with regard to the export specialisation. Compared with other advanced competitors, the euro area remains relatively more specialised in labourintensive categories of goods and has shown only a few signs of a stronger specialisation in research-intensive goods. Nevertheless, the paper generally calls for a more cautious approach when assessing the prospects for euro area competitiveness, as globalisation has made it increasingly diffi cult to defi ne and measure competitiveness. Stressing the need to take a broader view on competitiveness, specifi cally with a stronger emphasis on productivity performance, the paper also introduces a more elaborate framework that takes into account the interactions between country-specifi c factors and fi rm-level productivity. It thus makes it possible to construct more broadly defi ned competitiveness measures. Pointing to four key factors determining the global competitiveness of euro area countries – market accessibility, market size, technological leadership of fi rms and institutional set-up – the analysis provides further arguments for continuing efforts to increase market integration and strengthen the competitive environment within Europe as a mean of enhancing resource allocation and coping with the challenges globalisation creates.
