Services Trade for Sustainable, Balanced, and Inclusive Growth

By Carlos Primo Braga, Jane Drake-Brockman, Bernard Hoekman, J. Bradford Jensen, Patrick Low, Hamid Mamdouh, Pierre Sauvé, Johannes Schwarzer, and Sherry Stephenson

Abstract

Structural changes in the world economy have altered the way we think about the nexus between trade and growth. In particular, the rise of the services economy and the digital revolution have rocked the world of trade policy-making in ways that are not nearly sufficiently reflected yet in international economic policy forums like the G20. Therefore, this policy brief urges G20 policy-makers to pay greater attention to trade in services and its crucial role in achieving the G20 objectives. Strong, sustainable and inclusive growth will not be achieved without due consideration of services.