Transformations  in
Business & Economics

MEASUREMENT OF INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE IN INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS IN THE HDD INDUSTRY. THE CASE OF EAST ASIA
Sebastian Bobowski

ABSTRACT. Intra-industry trade expanded rapidly in East Asia in the 21st century, with special regard to vertical pattern of bilateral flows in international production networks. Author recognized HDD industry as one of the most network-oriented section of East Asian economy, characterized by fragmentation of production processes, vertical specialization of dispersed locations and agglomeration effects. The research objective of the paper is to analyse the international production networks in HDD industry in East Asia by making a review of trade statistics from the period 2001-2016 and calculating the intra-industry trade and vertical intra-industry trade indexes to examine the pattern of regional production networks in the studied industry nowadays. Author made a review of theoretical frameworks of intra-industry trade and production networks, delivered historical context of emergence of HDD industry in East Asia, pointed at the future challenges related to emergence of SSDs .

KEYWORDS:  intra-industry trade, international production networks, HDD industry, East Asia.

JEL classification:  F14, F23, L63.