The Past and Future of Manufacturing in Central and Eastern Europe: Ready for Industry 4.0?

Wim Naudé, Aleksander Surdej () and Martin Cameron ()
Additional contact information
Aleksander Surdej: OECD
Martin Cameron: Trade Advisory Research (Pty) Ltd

No 12141, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In this paper we determine the industry 4.0 (I4.0) readiness of eight Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs): Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. We outline the nature of manufacturing in the region, describe three distinct time periods of industrialization since 1990, and explain the nature of I4.0. Using measures reflecting three key dimensions of I4.0-readiness, namely technological, entrepreneurial and governance competencies, we find that the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary and Slovenia are most I4.0-ready, and that Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and Poland are the least ready of the CEECs. We make a number of recommendations. All the countries in the region could do more to promote entrepreneurship; to diversify and grow manufacturing export markets through focused trade facilitation and competitive exchange rates; and to cooperate regionally on industrial policy - through for instance establishing a regional CEEC I4.0 Platform.

Keywords: industry 4.0; industrialization; technology; manufacturing; innovation; entrepreneurship; Eastern and Central Europe; industrial policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O14 O25 O33 O52 P27 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43 pages
Date: 2019-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent, nep-ino and nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published - published as 'Ready for Industry 4.0? The Case of Central and Eastern Europe' in: Mohammad Dastbaz, Peter Cochrane (eds.), Industry 4.0 and Engineering for the Future, Springer International, 2019, 153-175

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