Services
Acknowledgements / Disclaimer
This publication is the result of a joint effort of the World Bank and the WTO. The publication was co-authored and coordinated by Martin Roy of the WTO and Pierre Sauvé of the World Bank under the supervision of Deputy Director-General Anabel Gonzalez and Xiaolin Chai Director of the Trade in Services and Investment Division at the WTO and Mona Haddad Global Director of Trade Investment and Competitiveness and Sebastien Dessus Practice Manager Trade and Regional Integration at the World Bank. The publication was edited by Ross McRae and Anthony Martin of the WTO.
Executive summary
This co-publication by the World Bank and the WTO is motivated by a shared view that the structural changes associated with a more service-centric world economy and the central contribution that expanded trade and investment in services can make to economic growth and development warrant greater policy attention and revived international cooperation. An important aim of the publication and a key reason for its joint nature is to recall the benefits of advancing the negotiating agenda on trade in services and the opportunity costs of not doing so. Accordingly the publication aims to foster reflection on how best to mobilize additional support – and better assistance – for developing and least-developed economies in implementing services sector reforms and reaping the development gains from expanded trade and investment in services.