Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/278491 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
wiiw Research Report No. 468
Publisher: 
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), Vienna
Abstract: 
In this report, we analyse the international competitiveness of the EU in four industry groups over the period 1995-2018. The groups are delineated by specific factor intensities, where these intensities are assessed from digital tasks performed by labour services and ICT capital stocks. The EU's positions relating to trade balances, revealed comparative advantages and unit value ratios are assessed relative to its main competitors, such as the US, China, Japan and South Korea. The trade specialisation patterns confirm EU advantages in traditional industries, which still represent the largest part of global trade, and in the group of digital task-intensive industries. In the cyber-physical group of industries, which are characterised by both high digital task and ICT capital intensities, the EU records a trade deficit, although this has been receding in recent years. Competitiveness indicators depict heterogeneity among EU countries. The loss of international competitiveness for some technology front-runners is a worrying sign. On the positive side, however, a reduction in trade deficits or an improvement in product quality and market shares is evident for certain EU countries, especially in the Central European region.
Subjects: 
international competitiveness
EU
EU-CEE
trade balances
revealed comparative advantages
unit value ratios
digital tasks
ICT capital
digitalisation
JEL: 
F14
L11
L60
O33
Document Type: 
Research Report

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