A SECTORAL ANALYSIS OF EUROPE'S INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS

The aim of this paper is to throw some light on Europe's competitiveness in international trade. With the exception of Krugman, who has argued that ‘concerns about competitiveness are … almost completely unfounded’ and ‘that obsession with competitiveness is not only wrong but dangerous …’ (Krugman 1994: 30); most if not all commentators hold the view that an important economic problem facing countries is one of global competition, i.e., competing in world markets. In the words of President Clinton each nation is Nov. 12 Nov. 12 “like a big corporation competing in the global market place”(quoted in Krugman 1994: 29).