Abstract
Based on the gravity model of the trade with imperfect specialization we suggest a testable econometric specification. The model considers bilateral gravity equation as a statistical relationship limited by the multilateral specialization patterns among countries.
We test the model on disaggregated bilateral trade data of the European Union (EU) countries. Our results show that trade in final goods between East and West in Europe is driven by multilateral specialization incentives.
The identified key drivers are supply side country differences in labour costs with respect to the rest of the world. This finding is compatible with the idea of incomplete specialization.
We also show that trade between old and new EU members is realized more though increasing variety of products rather than by intensifying trade with established products.