All FIW Publications
The FIW - Research Centre International Economics (https://www.fiw.ac.at/) is a cooperation between the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), the University Vienna, the Johannes Kepler University Linz, the University of Innsbruck, WIFO, wiiw and WSR. FIW is supported by the Austrian Federal Ministries of Education, Research and Science (BMBFW) and of Labour and Economy (BMAW).
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FIW Research Reports: Außenwirtschaftlicher Studienpool 2013
The FIW Research Reports 2014 show the results of the five topic areas "TTIP as part of a new European foreign trade strategy", "Austria's trade foreign-trade potentials in the BRICS-countries", "Terms of Trade", Austria's unexploited export-potentials" - Update of the FIW study "A Land Far Away", Global Value Chains" that were announced in 2013 by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics, Family and Youth (BMWFJ) and funded by the "Internationalisation Initiative".
Analysis of Austria’s Terms-of-Trade
FIW Research Reports 2014/15 No. 4
Stefan Schiman, Andreas Reinstaller (WIFO)
Abstract: Terms-of-trade (ToT) refer to the amount of goods a country can import per unit of goods exported, i.e. the relation of export to import prices. As different factors have worked in opposite directions, Austria’s ToT evolved relatively stable in the long run. Therefore, not only their development over time and in different sectors is the subject of this study, but also the determinants and their effects on the evolution of the Terms-of-Trade: We discuss monetary (crude oil price, exchange rate) and non-monetary determinants (product mix, product variety/quality, capital accumulation).
Keywords: Terms of Trade, Exchange rates, Exports
JEL-codes: F14, F31, F41
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Global Value Chains: Implications for the Austrian economy
FIW Research Reports 2014/15 No. 3
Veronika Kulmer, Michael Kernitzkyi, Judith Köberl, Andreas Niederl(JOANNEUM RESEARCH)
Abstract: This study focuses on the implications of rising global value chains (GVCs) on international trade and analysis the impacts on small open economies. Small open economies rely heavily on international trade and are highly integrated in global production networks but have so far been hardly considered in the literature. On the example of Austria, an industrialized small open economy in central Europe, we addressed the role of small open economies in a globalized economy. Based on the WIOD database we apply network analysis and use GVC as well as competiveness indicators to measure the associated risks as well as benefits. Findings imply for Austria a sharp turn in the focus of trade policy away from the traditional gross trade perspective. Austria’s competitiveness has been strengthened considerably via the participation in GVCs since resource and endowment constraints have been overcoming easier and foreign inputs are used in the production processes efficiently enabling vast economies of scale. Results also reveal that the promotion of service oriented activities which are a main source of the domestic value added content in manufacturing exports is of key importance for Austria’s competitiveness on the global market. In particular we found a mutual integration of EU enlargement countries of 2004 and Austria: Austria’s intermediate exports are mainly characterized by high knowledge- and service-intensive manufacturing goods, while the EU enlargement countries of 2004 specialize in low-skilled employment and less knowledge intensive services.
Keywords: Global value chains, international trade network, input-output modelling,
value added in trade
JEL-codes: O52, F14, C67, O47, F68
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- Research Report (including Executive Summary and Policy Note)
The Central European Manufacturing Core: What is Driving Regional Production Sharing?
FIW Research Reports 2014/15 No. 2
Robert Stehrer and Roman Stöllinger (wiiw)
Abstract: There is evidence that Europe’s manufacturing activity is increasingly concentrated in a Central European (CE) core which the IMF in a recent publication also refers to as the German-Central European supply chain. This CE manufacturing core is dominated by Germany and in addition comprises Austria and the four Visegrád countries (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland). The case of Austria is particularly interesting because it is neither the primary technology leader within the country group, nor is it an offshoring destination and therefore takes an intermediate position. This study provides further empirical evidence for the growing concentration of European industrial production in the CE manufacturing core and explores in detail the structure and development of the regional supply chains over the period 1995-2011. This includes an analysis of the impact of international production integration on the value added share of manufacturing in the economy. The econometric results point towards differentiated effects for the members of the CE manufacturing core and the remaining EU Member States. Focusing on value added generated by the manufacturing sector, the industries which build the backbone of this regional manufacturing cluster are identified. Finally, the report investigates which factors are conducive to the intensification of international production sharing. In line with the notion of a production-investment-services nexus, it is found that (inward) FDI in the manufacturing sector is associated with higher degrees of production integration. Again, the econometric evidence suggests that some of the factors explaining international production sharing, such as the level of export sophistication, have differentiated effects for the members of the CE manufacturing core as compared to the other EU countries.
Keywords:European manufacturing, production integration, global value chains, structural change
JEL-codes:F14, F15, L16
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How much potential is there in the BRICS?
FIW Research Reports 2014/15 No. 1
Verena Ebner, Christina Mumme, Wolfgang Lueghammer, Wilhelm Schachinger,
Wolfgang Schwarzbauer (OeKB Research Services)
Brigitte Hochmuth, Sarah Lappöhn, Iain Paterson, Alina Pohl, Christian
Reiner, Edith Skriner, Alexander Schnabl (IHS)
Abstract: Die vorliegende Studie zum Potenzial der BRICS-Staaten für die österreichische Außenwirtschaft diskutiert in einem ersten Schritt aktuelle makroökonomische Entwicklungen und strukturelle Aspekte der fünf BRICS-Staaten sowie die damit verbundenen Herausforderungen für die Zukunft. In einem zweiten Schritt wird die Außenhandelsverflechtung Österreichs mit diesen Ländern dargestellt und deren ökonomische Bedeutung für Österreichs Wirtschaft ermittelt. Strukturelle (mittels Constant-Market-Shares Analyse) und innovationsökonomische Merkmale der Exportaktivitäten werden in diesem Kontext diskutiert. Außerdem werden einzelne Sektoren anhand ihrer RCA Werte (Revealed Comparative Advantage) identifiziert, bei denen Österreich spezifische Branchenvorteile gegenüber den BRICS-Staaten aufweist. Auf Basis langfristiger Wirtschaftsprojektionen und der strukturellen Anpassungsdynamik Österreichs werden Exportentwicklungspfade abgeschätzt. In einem dritten Schritt wird die Sicht bereits aktiver sowie potenziell aktiver Akteure auf den Märkten der BRICS-Staaten betrachtet. Dazu wurden rund 400 Unternehmen mittels standardisiertem Fragebogen zu motivationalen Faktoren für ein Engagement in diesen Ländern, zu den Herausforderungen und Risiken in diesen Märkten sowie den Erfolgsfaktoren befragt. Interviews mit ExpertInnen aus Politik und Wirtschaft dienten darüber hinaus der Vertiefung der Analyseergebnisse. Auf Basis einer Synthese der Erkenntnisse dieser Untersuchungen werden abschließend Handlungsempfehlungen für die österreichische Wirtschafts- und Außenwirtschaftspolitik abgeleitet.
Keywords: Internationalisation, Export, Austrian Trade Potential, BRICS, Company Survey,
Trade Relations, Value-added effects of Trade
JEL-codes: F14, F15, O52, O53, O54, O55
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