Economic transition and product quality: evidence from post-comecon EU trade data

Reáecting concerns regarding product quality raised by countries experiencing post-Comecon economic transitions, this investigation analyzes trade áows within the EU, focusing on former centrally planned members. We detect systematic negative deviations in the average export quality of these nations directed towards more established EU economies, even after accounting for bilateral economic development disparities. These deviations, diminishing over time, are notably absent in the exports of established EU members and incoming trade áows from outside the EU. The emerging pattern points to a unique characteristic of the EUís internal market, underscoring the necessity for further scholarly examination of quality assessments amid economic integration e§orts in post-transition European nations.