International Trade and Finance Association Working Papers 2008
EMU's Impact on the European Productive Structure, Increased Divergence? Empirical Data on Finland, France, Ireland, and PortugalHelio Vale, Universidade Nova de Lisboa Helio Vale is affiliated with Banco de Portugal, Avenida Almirante Reis no. 71, 4th floor, 1150-012 Lisboa, Portugal. Email: hfvale@bportugal.pt. This paper is a revised version of the Work Project presented as a partial requisite to obtain the Masters degree in Economics by Faculdade de Economia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. I gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of Luisito Bertinelli, Chrysostomos Tabakis, Cristina Corado, Iliyan Georgiev, and especially Susana Peralta, who not only made this paper possible, but through her continuous encouragement, warmth and friendliness kept me on the right track. I also thank the comments from the conference participants and discussants at the IT&FA’s 18th International Conference, Lisbon, May 2008, in particular from William Charles Sawyer. This paper must be better for their most generous efforts to improve it, but the faults which remain are entirely mine. The opinions expressed in this paper reflect only the author's views and in no way bind the institution to which he is affiliated. Download the Paper (PDF format) - August 7, 2008 Tell a colleague about it. Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing. ABSTRACT: With the launching of the European Monetary Union came fears of increased specialization, and potential industry-specific shocks that would endanger the stability within the common currency area. We investigate the impact of the introduction of the euro on the spatial distribution (specialization) of economic activities in four euro zone countries: France, Ireland, Portugal, and Finland. Evidence of a statistical significant increase in specialization is found after the introduction of the euro, in several manufacturing industries, with services playing a downward pressure on countries’ specialization level. At the regional level there is evidence of an increase in similarity between regions and the countries they belong to, and the EU15. This paper, First Place Co-Winner of the Best Student Paper Award, was presented at the 18th International Conference of the International Trade and Finance Association, meeting at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, on May 22, 2008. Key words: European Integration, Euro, Specialization, Regions. JEL Classification: F14, F15, R12, R15. SUGGESTED CITATION:
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