Sectoral specialisation in the EU a macroeconomic perspective



concentrated than manufacturing industries.
Within the former, hotels and restaurants and
financial intermediation were particularly
concentrated across EU countries. With regard
to the manufacturing sectors, Balassa indices
for products in low technology intensity sectors
showed relatively higher values in Portugal,
Greece and Ireland. By contrast, medium-high
and high technology intensity industries had
relatively higher Balassa indices in Sweden,
Luxembourg and Germany during the same
period. At the end of the 1990s, products in low
technology intensity sectors remained relatively
more concentrated than industries in medium-
high and high technology intensity industries.
For the former, Balassa indices had some
importance in Portugal and Greece and to a
lesser extent in Italy and Spain. Balassa indices

in medium-low technology intensity industries
had been relatively higher in Scandinavian
countries as well as in Austria, the Netherlands
and Portugal during the 1980s and the 1990s.
Medium-high technology intensity industries
showed more important Balassa indices in
Luxembourg over the two periods, and to a
lesser extent in Austria, Italy and Spain.
Finally, values for the Balassa index in high
technology intensity industries were relatively
higher in Germany and Sweden during the
1980s, while this group was joined by Ireland
and to a lesser extent Belgium and the UK at the
end of the 1990s and the beginning of the
2000s. In some countries, such as Ireland and
Finland (see Box 1 for a discussion of the
evolution of the ICT sector in Ireland, Finland
and Sweden), there has been a particularly rapid

2 SECTORAL
SPECIALISATION:
CURRENT SITUATION
AND EVOLUTION


Table 2 Balassa and concentration indices (cont’)

(1996-2001)

std.

BE DE GR ES FR IE IT LU NL AT PT FI DK SE UK dev.

Total manufacturing

Food products, beverages and tobacco
Textiles, textile products, leather
and footwear

Wood and products of wood and cork
Pulp, paper, paper products, printing
and publishing

Rubber, plastics and fuel products
Chemicals and chemical products
Other non-metallic mineral products
Basic metals and fabricated metal
products

Machinery and equipment
Transport equipment
Manufacturing NEC; recycling


1.02 1.05 0.63 0.94 0.94

1.06 0.78 1.97 1.29 1.12


1.22  0.45  3.81  1.39  0.87

0.67 0.97 1.33 1.14 0.68

0.76 0.82 0.67 0.93 0.91

0.87 0.97 1.18 1.23  1.10

1.84 0.96 0.58 0.83  1.00

1.00 0.90 1.41  1.63 0.97


Low technology intensity
Medium-low technology intensity
Medium-high technology intensity
High technology intensity

Business sector services and utilities

Electricity, gas and water supply
Construction

Wholesale and retail trade

Hotels and restaurants

Transport and storage
Post and telecommunications

Financial intermediation

Real estate, renting and business
activities


1.16 1.04 0.67 0.98 0.99

0.65  1.23 0.32 0.60 0.93

0.99  1.35  0.44  1.14  1.09

0.76 0.74  1.82 1.16  1.06

1.11  0.67 2.57 1.32  1.04

0.75  0.82  1.05  1.02  0.91

1.05  0.99  0.96  1.18  1.01

1.02  1.20 0.41 0.78 0.98


0.98 1.00 1.12 1.01 0.99


1.39  0.91  0.95  1.26  1.04

0.93  1.07 1.17 1.42 0.82

0.94 0.89  1.19 1.00 0.92

0.60 0.45 2.61 2.79  1.02

1.04 0.77 0.82 1.25 0.98

0.85  1.13  1.01  0.89  0.93

1.14  1.01  0.79 0.91  0.82

1.05  1.17 0.77 0.65  1.17


1.42 1.06 0.60 0.84 1.01 1.03

1.47 0.83 0.60 1.57 1.04 1.25

0.28 2.49  1.45 0.43 0.81  3.94

0.30 1.25 0.00 0.61 2.26 2.04

1.13  0.74  0.62  1.38  1.03  1.09

0.32  1.07 2.68 0.80 1.27 0.41

3.24 0.79 0.63  1.50 0.58 0.61

0.53  1.30 1.77 0.84  1.30 2.37

0.20 1.17 2.62 0.91  1.19 0.44

1.04 0.90 0.47 0.76 0.99 0.44

0.16 0.55 0.05 0.44 0.56 0.87

0.64  1.28  0.91  1.83  1.40  1.16

1.08  1.37 0.88  1.20 0.97 2.12

0.89 0.95 0.59  1.38  1.30 1.25

0.30 1.17 2.48 0.87 1.24 0.83

1.38 0.79 0.42 0.87 0.79 0.58

-  1.02  1.13  1.00  1.02 0.94

- 0.93  0.53  0.73  1.21  1.39

- 0.92  0.95  0.96  1.40  1.35

-  1.18  0.85  1.25  1.12  1.44

-  1.35  0.74  0.73  1.48  1.02

-  1.18     -  1.12  1.08 0.79

- 0.74     -  1.05  0.88  1.08

-  1.10  3.76  1.06  1.23  1.39

- 0.87 0.74 0.91  0.70 0.56


1.35 0.81  1.17 0.96  0.03

0.69 1.54 0.63  1.12  0.07

0.37 0.56 0.18 0.83  0.32

2.28 1.17 1.97 0.56  0.14

2.49 1.14  1.76 1.32  0.11

0.60 0.88 0.56 1.08  0.05

0.54 1.16 0.83  1.05  0.14

0.56 0.96 0.38 0.73  0.10

0.84 0.81  1.02 0.87  0.04

1.45 1.05  1.28 0.99  0.06

0.34 0.32  1.21  1.03  0.08

0.60 1.55 0.53 0.95  0.09

0.58 1.22 0.48  1.03  0.10

1.99  1.24  1.49  1.12  0.07

0.72 0.86 0.77 0.90  0.04

0.97 0.91  1.16  1.01  0.04

0.86 0.97 0.92 1.01  0.01

1.17 0.98  1.23 0.97  0.04

0.95 0.89 0.82 0.89  0.05

1.01  1.24  1.05  1.03  0.04

0.67 0.66 0.60 0.99  0.24

1.85  1.29  1.21  1.10  0.06

1.16 0.88  1.02  1.25  0.04

0.80 0.91  0.98  1.11  0.09

0.90 0.94  1.03 0.96  0.05


Sources: OECD, European commission, NCBs and ECB calculations.

Note: For the industry classification, see Annex 4.1.1. For Greece the available series start in 1988 only. The standard deviation (std. dev.)
refers to weighted figures (country weights).

ECB

Occasional Paper No. 19
July 2004



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