Determinants of Specialization and Main Trends in International Trade

Introduction

Trade competition is one of the most important topics related to international economics in the last decades. Firstly, the major trends in international trade will be detailed: globalization, international agreements, regionalization, and emerging markets. Secondly, a more detailed view will be offered regarding four groups of specialization determinants: demographic change, technological advance, energy and natural resources, and investment.

There are four main trends that appear in the literature on the topic and are believed to be critical. These main trends in international trade are international agreements, globalization (openness of markets), regionalization, and the emergence of new markets that have become new economic poles.

The aim of this chapter is to present a summary of the major trends in international trade and the main determinants of specialization.