In: Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci, časopis za ekonomsku teoriju i praksu - Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, Journal of Economics and Business, Vol. 33, No. 1, 2015, pp. 103-124
Cilj ovog istraživanja je testirati Heckscher-Ohlinov teorem komparativnih prednosti na uzorku trgovine Republike Hrvatske i ostalih članica Europske unije. Heckscher-Ohlinova teorija komparativnih prednosti u većoj mjeri može objasniti međunarodnu trgovinu u slučajevima kada je uzorak zemalja heterogen, u smislu većih razlika u dosegnutom stupnju razvoja i obilnosti proizvodnih faktora. Na temelju dobivenih rezultata proizlazi zaključak da je međunarodna robna trgovina između Republike Hrvatske i ostalih članica Europske unije kako pretpostavlja Heckscher-Ohlinov teorem komparativnih prednosti. U svrhu testiranja osnovne hipoteze rada koristi se više regresijskih modela. Razlika u opskrbljenosti proizvodnim faktorima između Republike Hrvatske i ostalih članica Europske unije bolje objašnjava razlike u jediničnim cijenama proizvodnih faktora nego neto robnu trgovinu Republike Hrvatske s ostalim članicama Europske unije. Empirijska je provjera potvrdila kako neto robna trgovina Republike Hrvatske s ostalim članicama Europske unije pozitivno korelira s relativnom ponudom kapitala. Nije pronađena značajna korelacija između robne trgovine i relativne obrazovanosti hrvatske radne snage, u odnosu na druge članice Europske unije. Na temelju provedene empirijske provjere, može se zaključiti da je Republika Hrvatska, u odnosu na prosjek EU27, relativno opskrbljenija radom kao proizvodnim faktorom te je neto robni izvoz prerađivačke industrije Republike Hrvatske radno intenzivan. Rezultati provedenog istraživanja ukazuju na važnost faktora proizvodnje kao osnove za rast robnog izvoza te gospodarskog razvoja u cjelini. Zaključno, Republika Hrvatska treba više napora uložiti u privlačenje investicija i porast omjera kapitala i rada. ; The goal of this research is to test the Heckscher-Ohlin' theorem of comparative advantages on the sample of the Republic of Croatia and other European Union member countries. Heckscher-Ohlin theorem of comparative advantages can largely explain international trade in cases where the sample of countries is heterogeneous, in terms of the achieved level of development and the production factors abundance. In regards to aforementioned research hypothesis was tested using several regression models. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that the international merchandise trade between Croatia and other European Union (EU) members is in accordance with the assumed by Heckscher-Ohlin comparative advantages theory. The difference in production factors abundance between Croatia and other European Union members better explains differences in production factor unit prices than net merchandise trade. Empirical testing show that merchandise trade between Croatia and other European Union members is correlated with the capital abundance. We found no significant correlation between merchandise trade and relative education level of Croatian labor force in regards to other EU countries. Furthermore, based on the empirical testing, it can be concluded that Croatia in regards to EU27 average, is a labor abundant country and net exports of Croatian manufacturing is labor intensive. Estimated results point out the production factor importance as a base for further merchandise exports development and economic development as a whole. Finally, basic conclusion is that Croatia needs to put more effort on investment attraction and therefore capital to labor ratio increase.
The main objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between merchandise exports and revealed comparative advantage (RCA) indicators of Croatian exports on the European Union (EU) market. For this purpose the main hypothesis is defined as follows: a Croatian merchandise export is positively correlated with RCA indicators on the EU market. Based on the empirical tests and using the defined econometric model for the period 1995-2012, the main hypothesis of research was confirmed; meaning correlation between indicators of RCA in merchandise exports on the EU market in the long and short run is confirmed. Positive and statistically significant relationship was found between RCA in export of raw materials excluding fuel and level of merchandise export as well as RCA in export of machinery and transport vehicles and level of merchandise export.