Global trends in services trade Cover Image

Globalne tendecje w handlu usługami
Global trends in services trade

Author(s): Magdalena Rudnicka
Subject(s): Economy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu
Keywords: international trade in services; commercial services; WTO; value added; global value chains

Summary/Abstract: Services are the largest and most dynamic component of both developed and developing country economies. Important in their own right, they also serve as crucial inputs into the production of most goods. Services without which the global value chains could not function – such as communication, finance, computer and information, other business services – have been the fastest growing component of services trade. This is the category of “other commercial services”, which have increased in importance from 40 to 53% of total services trade over the 15 years from 1995 to 2010. Services are not adequately captured in official trade statistics, with one recent estimate reckoning that services account for around 40% of world trade on a value added basis rather than the currently estimated 22-26%. The recent agreement between the WTO and the OECD to publish trade statistics on a value-added basis is a highly positive development and will be a big step towards allowing the importance of services to be better understood and appreciated in the future.

  • Issue Year: 2013
  • Issue No: 315 vol 2
  • Page Range: 162-171
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Polish