Trendovi i karakteristike međunarodne razmjene Republike Hrvatske
Trends and Features of Croatia’s International Trade in Goods

Summary/Abstract: All-pervasive internationalisation and globalisation are especially manifested in small open national economies such as Croatia. Upon joining the European Union, Croatian economy will integrate even more strongly with other business entities in the common market. This is why Croatian economy does not have an alternative that could substitute exports, i.e., sale of goods and services in the international market required for successful growth. The purpose of this paper is to analyse trends and features of the international trade in goods of the Republic of Croatia in the period 2001 - 2011. The results of the analysis indicate that export of goods has a very small positive influence on GDP growth in the Republic of Croatia when compared to selected surrounding countries. The paper examines, interalia, the scale of international trade in goods, import dependency, export growth potential, as well as the extent of openness towards and involvement of the Republic of Croatia in the international trade in goods. The results lead to the conclusion that to facilitate growth and development of Croatian economy, from the viewpoint of international economy, it is important to develop an industrial policy at the national level which would enable efficient increase in industrial goods exports thus covering the dominant imports by exports. The paper highlights the need for a thorough change in the national economic strategy as well as the need to develop an export-oriented national economy through involvement in European and global economic trends.

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