International trade and investment in services are an increasingly important part of global commerce. Advances in information and telecommunication technologies have expanded the scope of services that can be traded cross-border. Many countries now allow foreign investment in newly privatized and competitive markets for key infrastructure services, such as energy, telecommunications, and transport. More and more people are travelling abroad to consume tourism, education, and medical services, and to supply services ranging from construction to software development. In fact, services are the fastest growing components of the global economy, and trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) in services have grown faster than in goods over the past decade and a half.
International transactions, however, continue to be impeded by policy barriers, especially to foreign investment and the movement of service-providing individuals. Developing countries in particular are likely to benefit significantly from further domestic liberalization and the elimination of barriers to their exports. In many instances, income gains from a reduction in protection to services may be far greater than from trade liberalization in goods.
In light of the increasing importance of international trade in services and the inclusion of services issues on the agendas of the multilateral, regional and bilateral trade negotiations, there is an obvious need to understand the economic implications of services trade and liberalization.
A Handbook of International Trade in Services provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject, making it an essential reference for trade officials, policy advisors, analysts, academics, and students. Beginning with an overview on the key issues in trade in services and discussion of the GATS, the book then looks at trade negotiations in the service sector, the barriers to trade in services, and concludes by looking at a number of specific service sectors, such as financial services, e-commerce, health services, and the temporary movement of workers.
Aaditya Mattoo is Lead Economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank. Prior to joining the Bank in 1999, Mr. Mattoo was Economic Counsellor at the Trade in Services Division, World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva. He also served as Economic Affairs Officer in the Economic Research and Analysis and Trade Policy Review Divisions of the WTO. Mr. Mattoo has lectured in economics at the University of Sussex and was lector at Churchill College, Cambridge University.
Robert M. Stern is Professor of Economics and Public Policy (Emeritus) in the Department of Economics and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University in 1958. He was a Fulbright scholar in the Netherlands in 1958-59, taught at Columbia University for two years, and joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1961. He has been an active contributor to international economic research and policy for more than four decades and has published numerous papers, books, and edited volumes on a wide variety of topics.
Gianni Zanini is a Lead Economist at the World Bank. He holds a Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Rome, Italy and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Davis. Prior to working at the World Bank, he taught macroeconomics and international trade at the University of California, Davis. He has 20 years professional experience at the World Bank, first as a country economist for Somalia, Uganda, and Nigeria and then as an evaluator of the performance of Bank structural adjustment (Macedonia) and country assistance programs (Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, and Russia). Since late 2002, he has led the trade team in the World Bank Institute.
