INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES IN NEW EU COUNTRIES

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether different foreign exchange rate regimes affect export rate (i.e. the ratio of exports in GDP). The comparative analysis showed that countries with flexible exchange rate are more engaged in the international trade and these differences stem from differences in the export rates. These differences disappear (or became lesser) after 2008 as a primarily consequence of the lesser differences in the goods exports. The results showed that nominal depreciation in the crisis times can boost the price competitiveness and stimulate exports. These results should not ignore the fact that exchange rate is not the only determinant of exports. Therefore, it is realistic to expect that before the recent crisis the exports is dominantly influenced by non price competitiveness factors, while the impact of price components (that also include the exchange rate) is more limited to the period of the recent crisis.