Skip to main content
European Commission logo
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
CORDIS Web 30th anniversary CORDIS Web 30th anniversary
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Impact of international trade on labour market performance in selected counties of Central Europe: does EU accession matter?

Final Report Summary - TRADE-LABOUR-CECS (Impact of international trade on labour market performance in selected counties of Central Europe: does EU accession matter?)

The project 'Impact of international trade on labour market performance in selected counties of Central Europe: does EU accession matter?' (proposal No. 237170, call reference: FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008) have had several aims. Key objectives have included:
a) realisation of the research part of the project aimed at answering the question on the consequences of the EU accession of Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) to the EU in 2004 for their national labour markets (in terms of impact of international trade on employment),
b) undergoing intensive training aimed at acquiring by the fellow new skills and qualifications useful for current and future research and didactic activity,
c) realisation of other academic activities aimed at improving fellows' skills and career prospects (including getting contacts within and outside host institution, participation in other projects and networks, gaining experience, etc.).

Achievement of the above objectives has been quite a complex and challenging task, particularly taking into account relative shortness of the fellowship period (12 months). During this period the following activities have been undertaken in order meet project's objectives:
a) research activities aimed at realisation of the research project 'Impact of international trade on labour market performance in selected counties of Central Europe: does EU accession matter?' (TRADE-LABOUR-CECS), that included: discussion of the research project with the GEP researchers, analysis of the foreign trade developments of the selected CEECs, detailed review of the latest literature concerning impact of trade on wages and employment, data search and preparation of the database necessary for quantitative analysis, gaining skills in necessary econometric techniques, preparation of a draft version of a working paper based on the theoretical deliberations, review of the literature and own research results, revising of the research proceedings with conclusions from its discussion that resulted in preparation of the final version of the working paper to be published in GEP working papers series,
b) participation in advanced courses offered to the PhD and Master students by the host institution, including: PhD topics in economic theory and applications, advanced trade theory, advanced econometrics, applied microeconometrics, advanced macroeconomic theory for master students,
c) participation in seminars, workshops and conferences, including (inter alia):

a. at the School of Economics, University of Nottingham: weekly GEP seminars, GEP internal seminars, development economics seminar series, senior academic seminars, GEP masterclass on numerical analysis of firm dynamics in open economies, series of Leverhulme globalisation lectures, Nottingham lecture in international economics, GEP conference product transactions in international trade, workshop New Developments in DSGE Models, 9th GEP Annual Postgraduate Conference (with being discussant of the paper by Sanne Hiller and Robinson Kruse 'Milestones of European integration: Which matters most for trade openness'), Annual GEP Research Retreat, GEP Conference on International trade: firms and workers.
b. outside the School of Economics, University of Nottingham: European Trade Study Group Conference 2009 in Rome, Conference on the Development of Competencies in the World of Work and Education in Ljubljana, Workshop on the Development of Higher Education Management Systems in Ljubljana, Workshop Empirical Analysis of Firm Heterogeneity in International Trade in London, Workshop on Nonparametric instrumental variables estimation: theory and applications in London, Conference Warsaw International Economic Meeting 2010 in Warsaw.

d) pursuing other research and academic activities, which have contributed to acquiring additional research and didactic skills and may potentially increase the fellow's mobility; they included: cooperation within the EU project on higher education and labour market Dehems, participation in preparation of the Warsaw International Economic Meeting 2010 in Warsaw, research activities for preparation of a paper as a contribution to a book publication and an international conference Employability and Mobility of Bachelor Graduates in Europe - Results of the Bologna Process to be held in October 2010 in Berlin, working on a book publication based on the fellow's PhD dissertation, intensive participation in language courses in academic English, French and Italian.

The described activities allowed the fellow to achieve the following main results of the project's realisation:
a) preparing a working paper on the impact of international trade on labour market performance in selected counties of Central Europe to be published in GEP Working Papers Series that addresses the main research questions formulated in the proposal,
b) gathering up-to-data information on data sources on trade and labour market performance in Poland and other countries of Central Europe,
c) extremely significant increase in knowledge of the literature and current cutting-edge developments in international trade theoretical and empirical literature,
d) getting familiar with the latest developments in the literature on trade-induced labour adjustment, particularly in the framework of monopolistic competition and heterogeneous firms with modern labour market modelling,
e) significant increase in knowledge of dynamic approach to macroeconomics, including DSGE framework and software techniques necessary for use of this class of models,
f) significant increase in knowledge of econometrics, including analysis of cross-section data, identification problems, forecasting issues, current developments in time series econometrics and microeconometrics,
g) getting familiar with several new software tools, including: Scientific workplace, Matlab and Dynare,
h) getting new competencies (including practical experience) in several new econometric techniques, including:

a. duration analysis,
b. limited dependent variable techniques,
c. policy evaluation techniques.

i) improving competencies in academic use of English and communication skills in French and Italian,
j) acquiring contacts with several researchers in the area of trade and labour market, both within and outside School of Economics, University of Nottingham,
k) preparing two working papers on the transition from education to labour market,
l) submission of the book prepared upon PhD thesis,
m) getting familiar with practical didactic arrangements applied in School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
The above described results will have great impact on the fellow's future academic work and will be highly beneficial both to the fellow's career development and to the third parts.

First, the research results presented in a working paper will add to the knowledge of the economic processes related to the economic integration with the EU by shedding more light on the employment consequences of 2004 EU enlargement. It is a relevant result not only for academics, but - most of all - for policy makers at national and European level and social partners' organisations. The results might be particularly interesting in the context of further EU enlargements and concerns related to its consequences for national economies. Second, increased fellow's knowledge, gained experience and contacts' network will be useful for her future research activity, clearly improving its scientific quality. Third, increased fellow's knowledge and gained experience will increase quality of her didactic activity, particularly in a part involving international students (for instance participating in the EU students' exchange programmes). Fourth, acquired international contacts and improved communication skills in English, French and Italian will contribute to greater Fellow's international mobility potential.

Further contact with the fellow: ggrotkowska@wne.uw.edu.pl