International competitiveness measures and “countries mapping” of the furniture industry in EU 13

Abstract

International competitiveness measures and “countries mapping” of the furniture industry in EU 13 countries. The theory of economics is increasingly emphasizing the positive dimension of competition, which is an integral part of the market economy. From the point of view of the countries development, it is important to identify and support industries with special production and export potential. Hence, the main goal of the research was to assess the competitiveness of the furniture industry using selected result-oriented indices. A group of EU 13 countries was selected for the study, and a comparative analysis was carried out against the background of all Community Member States. The time range of the research was adopted for the years 2009-2017. The analysis carried out shows that the highest comparative advantages in furniture exports were generated by producers and exporters from Estonia, Poland and Lithuania. In turn, the unfavorable situation in foreign trade in furniture was noticed in Cyprus and Malta. These are small countries, showing a relatively low share of the furniture industry production value in the total industry value and a relatively low economic labour productivity. In the entire period covered by the analysis seven EU 13 countries (i.e. the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia) belonged to the group of net exporters, i.e. it was characterized by a positive trade balance of furniture and additionally obtained a comparative advantage in this area.