Integración comercial y dinámica económicaEspaña ante el reto de la ampliación.

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyse commercial integration and productive structure evolution of East European countries during 1995-2004, and to compare it with the Spanish economy evolution. We describe the main external trade tendencies of these countries, from an institutional perspective as well as from the point of view of commercial flows. In addition to this description of main tendencies, we analyse the process of structural change in production from two complementary angles: the content of competitive advantages, and the quality and depth of external insertion. In the light of the outlined analysis, we conclude with a diagnosis of the challenges entailed by the European process of enlargement for the Spanish economy.