External demand, profitability and uneven development in the European Union

This article examines the relationship between total sectoral export responsiveness to changes in European Union (EU) income and the sectoral rate of profit in EU economies. Building on Marxian approaches to profitability, foreign trade and uneven development, it investigates whether export responsiveness is uniformly associated with profitability or whether the relationship varies across countries. Using sectoral panel data for 15 EU economies over 1996–2020, the analysis estimates country-specific models controlling for capital intensity, foreign direct investment and crisis effects. The results reveal substantial heterogeneity. Germany emerges as the clearest positive case, while Spain also displays a positive and statistically significant association. In several other economies, the relationship is negative or statistically insignificant. These findings suggest that sectoral export responsiveness is associated with profitability in uneven ways within the EU.