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could produce the same products. This is calculated as the global factor content in imports of
goods and services to Denmark, and excluding coal, oil, and gas. Danish factors improved
their import replacement with 1.1 percent point from 1980 to 1992, which can be seen in the
second row of table 3.
Factors of production (mainly labour and capital) excluding oil, coal and gas (mainly natural
resources) on a total account for 2.5 percent point improvement of current balance from 1980
to 1992: Sum of growing export and falling import as entered in the third row of table 3.
The total official trade balance, however, improved considerably more, namely 8.3 percent
point of gross factor income. Two other items, that are both closely related to energy and
exploitation of Danish North Sea oil and gas, are important. The first item is special categories
of imports, which improved 2.7 percent point. It comprises imports to oil- and gas activities
in the North Sea (2.0 percent point) and Danish ships expenditures abroad (0.7 percent point).
The other item is factor content in net trade of coal, oil, and gas (mainly remuneration of
natural resources), that fell from -2,9% of gross factor income in 1980 to -0.2 % in 1992,
resulting in a contribution to the improvement of the trade balance of 2.7 percent point.
Production of oil and gas in the Danish North Sea since the mid 1980es made the Kingdom
more self-sufficient among other things due to huge investment in the North Sea in the late
1970es and early 1980es.
The final rows of table 3 shows transfer and factor income flows that are not important for this
study, but they are included in order to account for the total official balance of current
transactions in the two final rows of table 3.
The aim of this study, as mentioned, is to analyse education in relation to imports and export,
and only those parts of trade where labour play more than a marginal role should be included.
This trade balances - in factor income terms for 1980 and 1992 - are included in the first three
rows in table 3. For the period as a whole it should be noticed that only about one third of the
improvement in current balance can be traced back to imports and exports other goods than
natural energy and thus potentially to the domestic labour market.