Empirical Studies on the European Economic Integration. An Approach Based on Sraffian Schemes and Subsystems.

IIn this thesis the specialization patterns of a group of countries are studied in order to check whether they are compatible with Comparative Advantages or whether there is scope to diminish CO2 emissions through alternative specialization patterns. The main focus is on European countries. A set of Input-Output Tables during the period 1995-2011 is used to perform the analysis, which is based on the Sraffian notion of subsystems. The results suggest that Comparative Advantages did not work well in Europe during the period considered. Alternative specialization patterns may allow to exploit better Comparative Advantages and, moreover, to decrease the CO2 emissions related to economic activities.