Competitiveness is one of the most debated issues in policy circles. But, what triggers it? Capitalising on the first existing harmonised cross-country dataset measuring the entire range of international activities of firms in seven European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy,...

In this Blueprint, Lionel Fontagné, Thierry Mayer and Gianmarco Ottaviano, show that trade flows have not increased meaningfully since the introduction of the euro. However, trade volume can be a misleading yardstick. Other obstacles Â? be it differences in regulation, legal framework, taxes...

The 2007 report from the research network European Firms and International Markets (EFIM) is the first systematic, cross-country, firm-level research of the features of European firms that compete in international markets.