The economic integration as a determinant of intra-industry trade: The case of Poland

Abstract

The present study has investigated determinants of intra-industry trade between Poland and its European Union trading partners. The analysis of the factors determining Polish bilateral intra-industry trade employed an econometric model for panel data. This paper is focused on one of the most important factors in the development of this type of exchange, namely on economic integration. The survey results confirm that in the case of Poland, integration with the European Union turned out to be a factor influencing favourably the development of intra-industry turnover. The development of intra-industry trade was also facilitated by the fact that Poland's trade partners use a similar language, which belongs to the group of the Slavic languages as well as by a considerable intensity of trade with EU countries. The negative impact on the development of intra-industry trade was exerted by trade barriers and the degree of the imbalance of trade between Poland and its trading partners. The outcome of the research conducted confirms that the impact of all of the identified determinants of intra-industry trade is consistent with the assumptions of the theory.