Euro area exports and imports: Do determinants of intra- and extra-EMU trade differ?

The attempt is to explain EMU exports and imports, treating the euro area as one single economy. EMU trade is analysed separately for intra- and extra-EMU trade. One result of this approach is that extra- and intra-EMU trade seem to follow a different pattern. Therefore, a separate estimation seems preferable. This is especially true for exports. For imports, the mistake made seems to be smaller. Interestingly, the aggregate of intra- and extra-EMU trade seems to be dominated by the pattern of extra-EMU trade, although both sub-aggregates are of a similar size: Estimation equations for aggregate EMU exports are quite similar to those for extra-EMU exports and the equations for aggregate EMU imports resemble those for extra-EMU imports.