Inhalt der Seite
Tradability of Output and the Current Account in Europe
Client/Funding Institution
Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Abstract
One aspect in the debate about current account imbalances in Europe is the consequence of ‘de-industrialisation’ observable in several European countries. This project highlights the role of tradability of output as a key determinant of the current account balance. The relationship between a country’s specialisation in the production of tradables will be investigated empirically for 46 European countries over the period 1995-2014. To this end a tradability index is developed which can be understood as a country’s expected degree of openness given its economic structure. The tradability hypothesis to be tested in this project suggests that countries specialising in the production of relatively more tradable output have a tendency to run current account surpluses. It is shown that this relationship is also predicted by intertemporal models of the current account. The tradability hypothesis is tested using both panel regressions and cross-country regression techniques.
Duration
July 2015 - December 2016
wiiw team Leader
wiiw Staff
Alexandra Bykova, Manuela Engleitner, Mario Holzner, Michael Landesmann, Leon Podkaminer
Publications
- Tradability Index: A Comprehensive Measure for the Tradability of Output
- Tradability of Output and the Current Account: An Empirical Investigation for Europe
Open Data
Related News
Keywords: Current account, tradable goods, wage moderation, Europe
Countries covered: Europe, European Union
Research Areas: International Trade, Competitiveness and FDI, Sectoral studies