The thesis consists of three empirical essays on trade, specialization and development. The first chapter studies the impact of greater economic integration (namely monetary unions) on trade, specialization and location of firms. Cost reductions due to greater economic integration may have...

The 2008 financial crisis, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, presented significant challenges - along with some opportunities - for apprenticeship systems and schemes across Europe, bringing into focus their resilience in times of crisis. These events, along with trends such as the green and...

The three essays of this dissertation contribute to the measurement of European economic integration and investigate the welfare effects of the European countries. The first study presents a newly developed index – the EU Index – which measures the extent of economic integration into the...