Trade and Specialisation in the Romanian Automotive Industry
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate international specialisation and trade patterns in the Romanian automotive industry. This was done in view of the Romanian EU accession in 2007, both in relation to the original 15 EU members and in the global context. The two measures used are Balassa’s Revealed Comparative Advantage measurements and the Grubel-Lloyd measure for Intra-Industry Trade. The results of our findings show that Romania has comparative advantage in the production of parts and components, especially in relation to EU15, but not in finished vehicles. We did however find positive indicators that could lead to a comparative advantage in the production of finished vehicles after accession. Where trade patterns are concerned we found that the levels of Intra-Industry Trade were higher in products that showed comparative advantage. We also looked at product fragmentation and found an increased degree of product fragmentation related to a higher level of Multinational Corporation involvement and an increased inflow of Foreign Direct Investments.