Transformation of the Macroregional Structure of the International Trade under Globalization

Abstract

Against increasing number of works dealing with multiple aspects of globalization many researchers and observers tend to believe that the international trade is getting more globalized. The article sets criteria – the share of regional trade and the degree of matching of a region’s (or country’s) geographical structure of exports to that of the world’s imports – which allow us to understand whether the international trade can be referred to as a really global one.

The results of the research show that many countries tend to trade with their regional counterparts rather than with regional outliers. Besides, the article considers the peculiarities of the geographical structure of international trade in various product groups and reveals that raw materials and fuels tend to be traded inter-regionally, whereas finished goods as well as intermediate goods are mainly exchanged within regions.

As long as intra-industry trade is thought to be one of the features of the modern stage of globalization, exports-imports operations in automotive, offi ce and consumer electronics, clothing and furniture industries are considered as examples of such trade. The main finding was that the intra-industry trade tended to have stronger presence in technologically advanced industries, whereas inter-industry trade was more typical of labor-intensive ones.

Finally, the article presents a classification of countries based on the peculiarities of the geographical structure of their exports. It shows that today the external trade of very few countries can be thought of as a really global one.