Technological intensity and patterns in Slovenian merchandise trade

This paper analyses the technological intensity of industries classi-fied by technology levels (low-technology, medium-low-technology, medium-high-technology and high-technology) and patterns in Slove-nian merchandise trade developments between and within industries in the post-independence years since 1992. Merchandise trade flows by industries are rather homogeneous in the extent of a decline in the external trade integration measured by intra-industry trade in-dices and in the presence of relative trade advantages. More consid-erable differences are found in trade structures and trade quality us-ing the ratio of export to import unit values. In exports we confirm the climbing-up technological development approach, including the jump-up in the medium-high-technology industries in the non-eu-15 markets. Medium-low- and medium-high-technology industries expe-rienced greater price competitiveness in trade with the eu-15 countries. High-technology industries and to a lesser extent low-technology in-dustries experienced a greater competitiveness in the eu-15 internal and external trade. These similarities and differences imply implications for industries with different technological intensity, which are associated with trade and policy shifts before and after the accession of Slovenia to the eu. Key Words:merchandise trade, trade structures, intra-industry trade, comparative trade advantages, price competitiveness jel Classification: f02, f14, f1