F14 - Empirical Studies of TradeReturn

This article compares comparative advantages of Visegrad Four countries and Germany. Four aggregated economic sectors based on different requirements on the workforce qualification and technology-intensity are being compared. The main aim is to ascertain the degree and speed of changes in V4 export structures towards export of higher value added. According to the executed analysis, there is a gradual shift towards export of higher value added in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. This shift is characterized by decrease in comparative advantage in labour intensive and low-skill manufactures. Those countries demonstrated also low growth in comparative advantage in high skill and technology intensive manufactures, however, only until the outbreak of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis. Poland differs from the other V4 countries, the shift towards export of higher value added is at marginal level.