Competitiveness of Polish service exports in the EU: A focus on specialisation in the years 2010-2022

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the article is to assess the competitiveness of Polish service exports to the EU by EBOPS categories and its changes in 2010-2022 and to compare the structure of Poland’s competitive advantages in the exchange of services with the main EU trade partners (Germany, France, and the Netherlands).

Research Design & Methods: Research methods include a critical analysis of the subject literature and a ratio analysis of export competitiveness using the RSCA and TBI indices. On their basis, we developed a matrix to allow for a synthetic assessment of the competitiveness of Polish services exports and the mapping of service branches in the markets of selected EU member states. The analysis also considered a third indicator, i.e., the export share index.

Findings: The most competitive branches of Polish service exports include mainly traditional branches (i.e., goods-related and manufacturing services, transport, travel and construction services) as well as telecommunications and IT services and personal, cultural, and recreational services. During the period under study, the composition of competitive advantages of Polish exports of services to the EU did not change significantly. The only branches of Polish service exports whose competitive advantages increased in the period under study were transport, construction, telecommunications, computer, information, and personal, cultural, and recreational services. Based on traditional service industries, the pattern of competitive advantages in Polish service exports was characterised by relatively little differentiation across the main EU export markets. In exporting traditional branches of services, the greatest advantage occurs in the German market and in exporting other service industries in the Dutch market.

Implications & Recommendations: The obtained research results can be a starting point for verifying the industry structure and partly also the geographical structure of Polish service exports to the EU. On their basis, it is possible to indicate the categories of services with the best prospects for the development of exports to the EU market and the surveyed member states.

Contribution & Value Added: Relatively few studies of Polish service exports concerned their competitiveness in the EU market, most of them analysed the total value of exports. Furthermore, among studies assessing competitiveness in the EU market, researchers’ attention generally focused on specific service categories and the EU market was treated as a homogeneous whole. Therefore, the issue of diversification of the competitive position of Polish service exports on the markets of individual EU member states was not taken into account. This article is an attempt to fill this research gap.

Keywords

Trade in services, export competitiveness, Poland, intra-EU trade, competitive advantage, trade specialisation

Author Biography

Elżbieta Bombińska

Associate Professor at Krakow University of Economics (Poland). Post-Doc Degree of Habilitated Doctor in economics and finance (2022), PhD in economics. Her research interests include international economics, international trade in services, foreign direct investments and multinational corporations.

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