FEATURES OF THE LITHUANIAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION

Abstract

The main features of the current period of globalization are the formation of integrated markets on the regional and global level, the dissemination of information due to the development of information technology, technology diffusion on a global level, intense development of multinational firms in different countries and decreasing barriers for movement of goods, services, capital and people. Due to the influence of these processes, global trade is growing faster than global output and the flow of foreign direct investment is growing even faster than international trade.

The Lithuanian economy, influenced by the globalization process, is becoming increasingly integrated into the global economy. The structure of the Lithuanian economy has undergone drastic changes over the past two decades, and manufacturing is becoming more and more important. Assessing the impact of the manufacturing sector on the country’s economy in terms of generated value added or employment in the sector is under-estimated. Many other sectors are closely related to the manufacturing sector – many are involved in international integration processes of manufacturing indirectly but through an interface with the products of manufacturing.

Globalization processes of the manufacturing industry directly and indirectly influence the country's economic development and globalizing trends. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the peculiarities of the development of Lithuanian manufacturing in a context of the modern global economy.

In order to evaluate the development of Lithuanian manufacturing and to highlight its features, the analysis of economic indicators reflecting the sectors development - added value, gross output, number of employees, labour productivity, foreign direct investment and international trade indicators, is presented in this article.

The analysis of economic indicators has presented the trends in the globalization process in Lithuanian manufacturing, which manifests itself differently in different sectors of manufacturing. Lithuanian manufacturing was the most important factor in the country's economic recovery and growth after the global financial crisis, which had shocked the Lithuanian economy and caused a massive decline in production. The impact of different sectors of manufacturing on the country's economic development is varied, but it can be stated that such a large part of the gross output of manufacturing has never been exported, in other words, international trade has never made up such a large portion of total manufacturing output.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.em.18.4.5846