Aleksandra Parteka

Efficiency of European public higher education institutions: a two-stage multicountry approach

The purpose of this study is to examine efficiency and its determinants in a set of higher education institutions (HEIs) from several European countries by means of non-parametric frontier techniques. Our analysis is based on a sample of 259 public HEIs from 7 European countries across the time period of 2001–2005. We conduct a two-stage DEA analysis (Simar and Wilson in J Economet 136:31–64, 2007), first evaluating DEA scores and then regressing them on potential covariates with the use of a bootstrapped truncated regression. Results indicate a considerable variability of efficiency scores within and between countries. Unit size (economies of scale), number and composition of faculties, sources of funding and gender staff composition are found to be among the crucial determinants of these units’ performance. Specifically, we found evidence that a higher share of funds from external sources and a higher number of women among academic staff improve the efficiency of the institution.

Determinants of Export Diversification: An Empirical Investigation

Empirical findings confirm that relatively high specialisation of economic structures tends to be associated with low levels of income per capita, but countries diversify their export structures along their path of growth. However, usually only per capita income, and eventually, country-specific fixed effects are the sole explanatory variables taken into consideration in the estimation of specialisation curves. We extend the analysis of specialisation - economic development nexus and search for the determinants of trade diversification process. Using a panel data-set for 60 countries and twenty years (1985-2004), we combine synthetic specialisation measures obtained with manufacturing exports data (SITC Rev2, 3 digit) with a wide range of country-specific variables characterising their size, geographical conditions, endowments, human capital or institutional setting. It turns out that distance from major markets and country size are the most relevant and robust determinants of export diversification process, explaining together around half of between country variability in specialisation patterns. The results are robust to changes in the disaggregation scheme and in the estimation procedure.

What Determines Export Diversification in the Development Process? Empirical Assessment

This paper assesses the role played by country‐specific factors as determinants of relative export diversification. Using a panel data set for 60 countries and 20 years (1985–2004), we confirm that even after clearing out differences in income per capita, cross‐country variability in the degree of export diversification is significant. In general, apart from per capita income, features influencing the size of accessible markets (domestic and foreign) are the most relevant and robust determinants of the export diversification process. Diversification opportunities grow if countries are large and not located far from economic core areas and when barriers to trade are restricted.

Relative Product Diversification in the Course of Economic Development: Import-Export Analysis

This paper contributes to trade diversification literature by comparing changes in relative (i.e. assessed in comparison with world patterns) heterogeneity of import and export structures in the process of economic development. In particular, by focusing on the diversification of imports, we add a missing piece to already analysed export trends. We use highly disaggregated trade statistics (4963 product lines) for 163 countries (1988-2010) and find that, despite differences in levels (imports being typically more diversified than exports, particularly at lower stages of economic development), they follow a similar path of evolution in the development process. Progressing relative diversification of both import and export structures accompanies economic growth, while re-specialisation is plausible only in case of few specific countries (very rich, small ones, abundant in oil/petrol). By comparing the results obtained with the use of alternative estimation methods (non-parametric, semi-parametric and parametric), we demonstrate the robustness of these findings. As income per capita grows, import (and export) structures of countries usually become less specialised with respect to the typical benchmark.

Skilled-Unskilled Wage Gap Versus Evolving Trade and Labour Market Structures in the EU

This paper proposes an alternative approach to the empirical study of wage gap between workers with different educational levels in the enlarged EU. The analysis is based on sectoral database, linking labor market statistics and trade data at the level of 12 manufacturing sectors in a group of 20 European countries: selected New Member States (NMS-5) and former EU-15 economies, in the period 1995-2005. The results of the empirical model suggest that wage inequality between workers with academic education and lower is associated mainly with domestic (and not foreign) labor market conditions and, to a lower extent, to trade forces. Degree of trade penetration affects skilled-unskilled wage gaps but we do not find significant wage effects of imports from less developed EU countries. The same result is confirmed when we consider trade in intermediates and outsourcing practices in Europe.

Economic Growth, Structural Change and Quality Upgrading in New Member States

The purpose of this research is to present the recent developments concerning structural change and productivity growth in New Member States and the role played in such process by country specific factors. We focus on ten countries (NMS-10) which joined the EU in 2004 and analyze productivity dynamics of their labor structures between the years 1995 and 2005 in a comparative setting versus EU-15 economies. NMS-10 have gone through a rapid process of economic restructuring and its speed has been positively related to the economic development. However, shift-share analysis of productivity growth indicates that changes in value added per hour worked were due mainly to positive developments (rising productivity) within single sectors and only to a lower extent to the shift towards higher productivity sectors. The process of a structural change and productivity growth has been characterized by beta convergence type mechanism, with public spending (especially on education, social protection, public order and safety) and trade (in particular with more advanced EU-15 countries) promoting overall and intra-industry productivity upgrading.

The Role of Trade in Intra‐Industry Productivity Growth—the Case of Old and New European Union Countries

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of trade in productivity growth in a sample of 30 sectors in 25 EU countries in the period of rapid East-West integration. Shift-share analysis is used to show that changes in value added per hour worked in these countries appear to be mainly due to positive developments (rising productivity) within single industries and only to a lower extent result from a shift towards higher productivity activities. Trade is found to be an important positive determinant of intra-industry productivity growth in European countries. Exports and imports alike can be associated with efficiency gains, but intermediate good exchange and trade with New Member States exert a particularly strong influence on intra-industry productivity growth in the EU.

Export diversification and economic development: A dynamic spatial data analysis

This paper contributes to the empirical literature on the relationship between ‘export variety’ (export diversification) and economic development by relaxing the assumption of cross-country independence and allowing for spatial diffusion of shocks in observed and unobserved factors. Export variety is measured for a balanced panel of 114 countries (1992-2012) using very detailed information on their exports (HS 6-digit product level). The estimation results of a dynamic spatial panel data model confirm the relevance of spatial network effects: indirect effects (spatial spillovers) strongly reinforce direct effects, while spatial proximity to large countries accelerates the diversification process. These results are robust to the choice of the weights matrix (an inverse-distance matrix, an exponential distance matrix and a matrix based on bilateral trade flows are used).

Workers, Firms and Task Heterogeneity in International Trade Analysis: An Example of Wage Effects of Trade Within GVC

Objective : The main aim of this article is to present how the heterogeneity of workers, firms, and tasks can be incorporated into empirical international trade analysis. In particular, we provide an empirical example in which we aim to quantify the reliance on foreign value added (FVA) within Global Value Chains (GVC) on wages. Research Design & Methods : We estimate a Mincerian wage model augmented with a measure of foreign value added drawn from international input-output data. We employ econometric modeling with instrumental variable (addressing the endogeneity between trade and wages) and estimated through weighted regression with cluster-robust standard errors. Findings: Controlling for individual workers and job characteristics, we find the negative correlation between FVA and wages. The effect is conditional on the skill and task typology (affecting mostly workers performing routine tasks). Implications & Recommendations: In empirical international trade analysis it is necessary to capture many dimensions of complexity observed in the real world. We argue that country- level or industry-level analysis on the international trade-wage nexus is not sufficient. Contribution & Value Added: The originality of this work lies in studying wage-international trade interactions in a multicounty setting (which allows for some generality in the conclusions drawn), with the use of microdata which allows us to account for several aspects of heterogeneity. We contribute by providing an example of international trade-labour markets analysis which captures many dimensions of complexity observed in the real world: differences between workers, tasks they perform and firms in which they are employed.

Does Offshoring Affect Industry Employment? Evidence from a Wide European Panel of Countries

Th is paper contributes to the literature on the possible impact of international outsourcing on domestic labour markets. We focus on off shoring-employment relationship. Th e analysis is performed for a wide European panel, composed of 27 EU countries and 13 manufacturing sectors, observed in the period 1995-2009. Th anks to the use of input-output tables from the WIOD project, we measure the intensity of off shoring in the sectors, as well as its decomposition into the domestic and foreign components. Th eoretical background for our analysis is rooted in recent trade-in-tasks models of international trade. Our empirical results, based on the estimation of panel data model, suggest that indeed domestic employment in EU manufacturing can be pushed down by increased off shoring. More specifi cally, low skill workers are the ones to be aff ected the most because of shrinking labour demand at home.