Determinants of International Fragmentation of Production in the European Union

The last decades were characterized by large increases in world trade, not only in absolute terms, but also in relation to world GDP. This was in large parts caused by increasing exchanges of parts and components between countries as a consequence of international fragmentation of production. Apparently, greater competition especially from the Newly Industrializing and Post-Communist Economies prompted firms in ‘high-wage’ countries to exploit international factor price differences in order to increase their international competitiveness. However, theory predicts that, beside factor price differences, vertical disintegration of production should be driven by a multitude of additional factors. Against this background, the present paper reveals empirical evidence on parts and components trade as an indicator for international fragmentation of production in the European Union. On the basis of a panel data approach, the main explanatory factors for international fragmentation of production are determined. The results show that, although their influence can not be neglected, factor price differences are only one out of many causes for shifting production to or sourcing components from foreign countries.economic integration, international fragmentation of production

Labour market consequences of international fragmentation of production

Butter, F.A.G. den [Promotor]Hagelaar, J.L.F. [Copromotor

Patterns of international fragmentation of production and the relative demand for labor

Growing shares of international trade flows consist of intermediate and unfinished goods shipped from one country to another to combine manufacturing or services activities at home with those performed abroad. This configuration of the productive structure has been named “internationally fragmented.” The purpose of our work is to analyze the labor market effects of international fragmentation of production, looking at how it affects relative labor demand. Models of trade due to fragmentation of production suggest that when international fragmentation takes place we might observe a change in the factor proportion in the affected industries. We use outward-processing-trade data - specifically related to international fragmentation of production - to test if the shift in the ratio of skilled and unskilled labor employed in Italy and Germany during the 1990s is related to fragmentation.

Patterns of International Fragmentation of Production and Implications for the Labor Markets

Growing shares of international trade flows consist of intermediate and unfinished goods shipped from one country to another to combine manufacturing or services activities at home with those performed abroad. This configuration of the productive structure has been named “internationally fragmented”. The purpose of our work is to analyze the labor market effects of international fragmentation of production in Europe, looking at how it affects relative labor demand. Models of trade due to fragmentation of production suggest that when international fragmentation takes place we can expect to observe a change in the relative factor intensities of the affected industries. We use international trade data specifically related to international fragmentation of production to test if the shift in intensity of skilled and unskilled labor employed in Italy and Germany during the 1990s it related to the fragmentation activity.international fragmentation of production, trade, labor demand

Patterns of International Fragmentation of Production and Implications for the Labor Markets

Growing shares of international trade flows consist of intermediate and unfinished goods shipped from one country to another to combine manufacturing or services activities at home with those performed abroad. This configuration of the productive structure has been named “internationally fragmented”. The purpose of our work is to analyze the labor market effects of international fragmentation of production in Europe, looking at how it affects relative labor demand. Models of trade due to fragmentation of production suggest that when international fragmentation takes place we can expect to observe a change in the relative factor intensities of the affected industries. We use international trade data specifically related to international fragmentation of production to test if the shift in intensity of skilled and unskilled labor employed in Italy and Germany during the 1990s it related to the fragmentation activity.international fragmentation of production, trade, labour demand

Component Trade and China?s Global Economic Integration

China?s engagement in the so-called international fragmentation of production ? namely ?cross-border dispersion of component production/assembly within vertically integrated manufacturing industries? ? has become an increasingly important form of its economic integration into the regional as well as the global economy. The paper presents the recent trend of trade in parts and components between China and its main trading partners. Applying an adjusted gravity modelling method, the paper explores how China?s pattern of trade in parts and components is being determined. The paper found that China?s rapid economic growth, increasing market size and economies of scale, foreign direct investment and infrastructure development including transportation and telecommunications are important factors in explaining China?s rapid increase of bilateral trade in parts and components with its trading partners. The paper also found that the spatial distance and transportation costs have significant negative impacts on China?s trade of parts and components suggesting that the reduction in transportation costs by technological innovation and investment could enhance trade in parts and components, and thereby deepen the process of international specialization involving China and its main trading partners. The paper argues that given the prospects of the rapid growth of the Chinese economy, its current and planned massive investments in R&D and in infrastructure, its continual policies in attracting FDI and its rapid move towards liberalizing its services sectors including its financial sectors, the scope for China and its trading partners to benefit from the process of international fragmentation of production is tremendous.component trade, international fragmentation of production, gravity model

International Fragmentation of Production and Trade Volatility: An Analysis for the European Countries

In the last years, world exports have displayed very strong fluctuations, much higher than GDP fluctuations. Some recent works tried to understand the causes of these fluctuations, and in particular if these strong swings in world trade flows are related to the growing weight of intermediates in trade and to the phenomenon of international fragmentation of production (IFP) or international outsourcing. This is the issue addressed in this paper. We analyze the influence of international fragmentation of production and trade in intermediate goods on the fluctuations of trade flows for the EU countries. After assessing the relevance of international trade in intermediate goods at the sector level using indices computed from the input-output tables of the EU countries, we test whether a significant relation exists between the extent of international fragmentation of production measured by this proxy and the volatility of trade flows, and the possible implications of these results

International Fragmentation of Production in the Portuguese Economy: What do Different Measures Tell Us?

This paper analyses the relevance and the characteristics of the international fragmentation of production in the Portuguese economy. The empirical trade literature suggests different measures of fragmentation, changing the scope of the concept and using alternative sets of information. The existing measures can be broadly divided in those that make use of Input-Output matrices together with international trade data and those that look at specific elements of international transactions, namely trade in parts and components and outward-inward processing trade. In this paper, we survey the different measures of international fragmentation of production and apply them to Portuguese data. Our results of Input-Output based measures point to a substantial increase of the vertical linkages in the Portuguese economy, in particular since the nineties. Nevertheless, it seems that the pace of vertical specialization has been somewhat modest in international terms. The share of exports of parts and components in total trade has almost doubled in the last two decades, while the import share of these goods has remained nearly stable. Processing trade represents a very low share of Portuguese international trade.

International Fragmentation of Production and the Labour Input into Germany’s Exports – An Input-Output-Analysis

The import penetration of exports has become a topic of public debate, particularly in the context of Germany’s position as one of the world’s leading exporters. The growth in the volume of intermediate products purchased from abroad for subsequent processing into export goods in Germany seems to be undermining the importance of exports as a driver of domestic production and employment. The gains that arise from an increase in exports seem to have been offset by the losses caused by the crowding out of local production by imports. Empirical evidence on the impact of this international integration of the goods market on the German labour market is ambiguous. Short-term negative effects on employment are claimed to be offset by the long-term benefit that the jobs lost in the short run will eventually be replaced by higher-skilled jobs with better perspectives. Against this background, the following hypothesis is tested empirically: Germany is poor in natural resources, but rich in skilled labour. In line with the Heckscher- Ohlin theory, Germany should therefore specialize in the production of export goods and services that are relatively intensive in these factors and should import those goods and services that are relatively intensive in unskilled labour. The empirical part of the paper deals with the extent of the German export penetration by imports. At first, it analyses by what ways imports are affecting the exports directly and indirectly and shows the consequences of import penetration of exports for the national output and employment. Secondly, consequences for employment are split in different skill types of labour. These issues are discussed with the standard open static inputoutput- model. The data base is a time series of official input-output tables. The employment effects for Germany divided by skill types of labour are investigated using skill matrices generated by the authors.international trade, labour and skills market interactions, input-output models