Trade Growth in Transition Economies

the long version

This book presents new original research on the main impediments to exports facing transition economies. It specifically addresses questions such as: Are the impediments to exports mainly external and demand related, or are they associated more with the conditions of supply? How are governments promoting exports now that their influence over enterprise activity has been reduced? What strategies have enterprises developed to overcome existing barriers to exports? And what role does foreign investment play in the development of competitive export potential? The authors focus on the export performance of eight small transition economies with special emphasis on the behavior of exporting enterprises. Results of the analysis reveal that in the mid-1990s the companies' inherited conditions and their strategies, as well as the domestic economic situation, are more important in determining export performance than characteristics of demand abroad. The authors conclude that exports have played a key role in the transition economies' recent recovery from recession and that further dismantling of remaining impediments will be critical as these economies become more integrated with the Western world.