Waitt, G.R.

English

The geography of international trade is of increasing
importance in geographical research due to variables which
have caused a restructuring of the global economy. Regional
trading blocs are one of the most important variables
creating change in the global spatial economy, for example
the EEC. Customs union theory can be used as a framework
that suggests three modes of analysis which are concerned
with changes in the volume, nature, and pattern of trade.
Most of the literature is concerned with the first of
these, and has been focused on predicting changes in trade
flows for the EEC as a whole, using a positivist
methodology. The second and third modes of analysis, have
to a large extent been neglected and form the central
themes of this research. Empirical analysis of the changes
in the nature and pattern of trade, for the period 1974 to
1985, is performed for total manufactured trade and
manufactured articles at various levels of statistical
disaggregation for each member country's trade within the
EEC. A realist methodology is adopted to enable both a
satisfactory explanation of the observed trends and as a
more suitable basis for identifying policy implications.

Since 1974, the nature of trade for total manufactured
trade is shown to be increasingly characterised by intraindustry
trade, that is trade in a closely differentiated
product, rather than the theorised inter-industry
specialisation. The pattern of trade, in terms of
integration, for total manufactured trade is also shown to
be increasing. This trend towards integration in
manufactured products indicates that intra-industry
specialisation in part may account for intra-industry
trade. Confirmation of this trend is given following
empirical analysis for selected industries (pulp and paper,
iron and steel, textiles and base metals) at a disaggregate
level of data.

Theoretical and practical limitations arise in the
presence of both intra-industry trade and intra-industry
specialisation. No longer can the neoclassical factor
proportion theory provide an adequate account of
international trade or basis for policy formation.
Industrial adjustment can not be interpreted simply as
replacing declining sectors with new ones in which the
country has a comparative advantage. In contrast, in the
presence of intra-industry trade, policy making is far more
complex as it must encourage the process of specialisation
within traditional sectors

Waitt, Gordon Robert

Edinburgh Research Archive

International specialisation of manufacturing activity and economic integration within the European Economic Community

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International specialisation of manufacturing activity and economic integration within the European Economic Community.

International specialisation of manufacturing activity and economic integration within the European Economic Community.

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