Abstract:

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to find out the major drivers of the Romanian transportation services export flows. Design / Methodology / Approach – The gravity model and the panel approach were used. The sample includes 12 years and 137 countries. EViews 10 was used for the panel regression, Panel Least Squares Cross section SUR, Panel Least Squares Cross section fixed effects and Robust Least Squares options were considered. The data were collected from World Bank and International Trade Centre databases. Findings – The economic size, measured by GDP and the unemployment rate of the receiving country, cultural similarities, like common border and common language, as well as EU membership, have a positive impact on the Romanian transportation services export flows. The geographical distance has a negative, small influence on the transportation exports. The Logistics Performance Index, the Consumer Price Index and the Landlocked of the partner country are not statistically significant. Practical implications – The Romanian transportation services exports could increase because the potential exports are greater than the real ones. Originality / Value - The paper offers a valuable insight on the Romanian transportation exports. The major drivers of the Romanian transportation export flows are the openness to transport services and the services trade openness of the partner country. Limitations – Further research is needed to compare the same services before EU integration. Logistics Performance Index was applied only for years 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018, when the data were available.