THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY WITHIN 21 OECD COUNTRIES

This research consists of the results of 21 pharmaceutical OECD industries in the period between 2004 and 2009. The main objective of this paper is to measure international trade and competitiveness of the pharmaceutical industry within the observed OECD countries. The methodology in the paper is based on the application of various indicators which include intra-industry trade, trade balance, the import penetration indicator, composition of manufacturing exports and other relevant indicators. The main research results include facts from measuring international trade and competitiveness, as well as an estimation of the position of the pharmaceuticals of the observed OECD countries, especially on the external market, and recommendations and proposals for reaching a higher level of international competitiveness.