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The costs of regulatory barriers to trade in services: New estimates of ad valorem tariff equivalents

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  • Sebastian Benz

    (OECD)

  • Alexander Jaax

    (OECD)

Abstract

This paper presents new estimates of policy-induced trade costs in five services sectors for 46 countries. Results demonstrate the significant untapped economic potential of multilateral, plurilateral, and unilateral services trade liberalisation. Even though services trade has more than tripled in the last two decades, the results show that trade costs are still high. The results are not only interesting in and of themselves, but they can also be used as input for further analysis on the economic benefits from different scenarios regarding the dismantling of barriers to trade in services. This paper exploits recent advances related to the measurement of services barriers in the OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI).

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Benz & Alexander Jaax, 2020. "The costs of regulatory barriers to trade in services: New estimates of ad valorem tariff equivalents," OECD Trade Policy Papers 238, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:traaab:238-en
    DOI: 10.1787/bae97f98-en
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    Cited by:

    1. Xin Fu & Tangyou Wang & Hongxu Yang, 2023. "Does Service Trade Liberalization Promote Service Productivity? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Lukman OYELAMI & Amara ZONGO, 2022. "Modeling the Impact of Non-Tariff Barriers in Services on Intra-African Trade: Global Trade Analysis Project Model," Bordeaux Economics Working Papers 2022-08, Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE).
    3. Anirudh Shingal, 2023. "Mode 4 restrictiveness and services trade," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 159(3), pages 757-786, August.
    4. Camille Reverdy, 2023. "Estimating the general equilibrium effects of services trade liberalization," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 493-521, May.
    5. Latorre, Maria C. & Yonezawa, Hidemichi & Olekseyuk, Zoryana, 2022. "The EU-Mercosur agreement: An in-depth analysis of CO2 emissions and labor market results," Conference papers 333488, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    6. Tamar Khachaturian & Sarah Oliver, 2023. "Intangible trade: Understanding the relationship between trade barriers and mode of supply in services sectors," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1189-1234, May.
    7. Métivier, Jeanne & Bacchetta, Marc & Bekkers, Eddy & Koopman, Robert Bernard, 2023. "International trade cooperation's impact on the world economy," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2023-02, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    8. Richard Baldwin & Rebecca Freeman & Angelos Theodorakopoulos, 2024. "Deconstructing Deglobalization: The Future of Trade is in Intermediate Services," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 19(1), pages 18-37, January.
    9. Anirudh Shingal, 2022. "COVID‐19, services trade and greenfield investment in ASEAN+6," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(10), pages 3146-3168, October.
    10. Alexander Jaax & Sébastien Miroudot, 2021. "Capturing value in GVCs through intangible assets: The role of the trade–investment–intellectual property nexus," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(3), pages 433-452, September.
    11. González, Javier & Latorre, María C. & Valverde, Gabriela Ortiz, 2022. "A comprehensive short and long-run assessment on the impact of the EU-Mercosur agreement on Brazil," Conference papers 333391, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    12. Zhuoran Bai & Shuang Meng & Zhuang Miao & Yan Zhang, 2023. "Liberalization for services foreign direct investment and product mix adjustment: Evidence from Chinese exporting firms," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 363-388, May.
    13. Métivier, Jeanne & Bacchetta, Marc & Bekkers, Eddy & Koopman, Robert, 2023. "International trade cooperation’s impact on the world economy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 713-744.
    14. Gonzalez Cabrera, Carlos Javier & Latorre, María C. & Ortiz Valverde, Gabriela, 2020. "A Computable General Equilibrium Model (CGE) assessment of the short and long-run impact on Brazil of the European Union – Mercosur Trade Agreement," Conference papers 333242, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    15. Sebastian Benz & Janos Ferencz & Hildegunn K. Nordås, 2020. "Regulatory barriers to trade in services: A new database and composite indices," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(11), pages 2860-2879, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    services trade; services trade restrictions; trade cost; trade liberalisation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F68 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Policy
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations

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