In this paper we analyze annual trade data for Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) on a disaggregate level. Permanent structural changes in East-West trade turn out to be an important feature in the transition process. The considerable contribution of intra-industry trade to overall...

We analyze the development of the Austrian, Dutch, German, Italian and Swedish trade structures (SITC two-digit levels) with Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. We revealed that the increase of the intra-industry trade was a major feature of the trade...

We analyze the relationship between institutional quality and firm efficiency. Using rich data on firms in the European Union between 2005 and 2012, we show that high institutional quality lowers the share of persistently inefficiently used assets. The adverse effect of low institutional quality...

The gravity model of trade is used to assess the economic consequences of new borders, which arose in the wake of break-ups of multinational federations in Eastern Europe. The intensity of trade relations among the constituent parts of Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union and the Baltics was very high...

The gravity model of trade is utilized to assess the impact of disintegration on trade. The analysis is based on three recent disintegration episodes involving the former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. The results point to a very strong home bias around the time of disintegration,...