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.