{"id":6002,"date":"2024-04-15T19:24:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T17:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/?p=6002"},"modified":"2024-05-16T19:36:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T17:36:36","slug":"austrias-trade-activities-from-a-value-added-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiw.ac.at\/en\/2024\/04\/15\/austrias-trade-activities-from-a-value-added-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Austria\u2019s trade activities from a value-added perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Austria\u2019s exports depend to a large extent on foreign inputs, which amounted to 40% of the value of gross exports in 2021 (though many industries had an even larger share). If we include intermediate imports in the picture, exports accounted for about 30% of Austrian GDP; services also contributed significantly via inter-industry linkages.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much do Austrian exports contribute to Austria\u2019s GDP? This question is important, since for small open economies like Austria\u2019s, foreign markets are important for products \u2018Made in Austria\u2019. To answer it, one must consider the fact that many of the goods produced in Austria directly and indirectly embody intermediate products imported from abroad, like raw materials and energy, semi-finished products, or high-tech components like computer chips. So-called Multi-Country Input-Output Tables (MC IOTs) allow us to calculate such indicators and the contribution of exports to Austria\u2019s GDP. In this note we highlight some selected patterns and trends, taking a \u2018value-added perspective\u2019 of trade. In the first place, this allows inter-country and inter-industry linkages to be taken into account. Secondly, using such data also enables us to simultaneously consider the role of services and their contribution to the production of exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The import content of exports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first question is the extent to which the production of exports relies on intermediate imports, expressed in value-added terms. This is presented in Figure 1, which shows the so-called \u2018import content of exports\u2019, based on the FIGARO data released by Eurostat\/JRC (for further technical detail and an overview of the indicators, see Stehrer, 2022<\/a>) from 2010 to 2021 (the latest year available). Whereas in 2010, the share of foreign value added in Austrian total gross exports (including all industries) was about 36%, by 2021 that figure had increased to over 40%. The numbers conceal a large variation across industries, however. Figure 2 therefore shows the foreign import content of each industry\u2019s gross exports for 2010C and 2021. This direct and indirect reliance on imports is highest in manufacturing industries, with almost 73% in C19 (Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products) and 65% in C29 (Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers). In eight industries, the share is over 50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n