Analysing the Degree of Specialization in Romania’s Services Trade

This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of trade specialization in
Romania. In particular, the work examines the changes in trade patterns at sectoral level. In order to distinguish between the two types of trade specialization (intersectoral specialization and intra-sectoral trade (IST)) the empirical work was carried
out using the Balassa index and the Grubel-Lloyd index. The former examines the degree of inter-sectoral specialization by sector; the latter considers the level of trade specialization between sectors. The empirical results support both the new trade theory, which predicts an increasing level of intra-sectoral trade with liberalization processes, and the new strand of trade theory, which, distinguishing between horizontal and vertical IST, suggests a co-existence between inter- and intra-sectoral trade.