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Developing the Services Sector as Engine of Growth for Asia: An Overview

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Listed:
  • Marcus Noland

    (Peterson Institute for International Economics)

  • Donghyun Park

    (Asian Development Bank)

  • Gemma B. Estrada

    (Asian Development Bank)

Abstract

The maturing of the manufacturing sector in many Asian countries, combined with the relative backwardness of its services sector, has made services sector development a top priority for developing Asia. Our central objective is to broadly survey and analyze the current landscape of the region's services sector so as to assess its potential to serve as an engine for inclusive economic growth. Our analysis indicates that services are already an important source of output, growth, and jobs in the region. However, its productivity greatly lags that of the advanced economies, which implies ample room for further growth. The impact of services sector on poverty reduction is less clear but we do find some limited evidence of a poverty reduction effect. One key challenge for all Asian countries is to improve the quality of services sector data. Overall, while services sector development is a long and challenging process, creating more competitive services markets by removing a wide range of internal and external policy distortions is vital for improving services sector productivity. As important as such policy reforms are, complementary investments in physical infrastructure and human capital will also be necessary to achieve a strong services sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcus Noland & Donghyun Park & Gemma B. Estrada, 2012. "Developing the Services Sector as Engine of Growth for Asia: An Overview," Working Paper Series WP12-18, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp12-18
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Gitana Dudzevičiūtė & Gitana Dudzevičiūtė, 2013. "Lithuanian manufacturing trends in the context of developed and developing countries," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 1(1), pages 55-66, September.
    2. Guna Raj Bhatta, 2014. "Structural Changes in a Small and Open Economy: Evidences from Nepal," NRB Working Paper 23/2014, Nepal Rastra Bank, Research Department.
    3. Yothin Jinjarak & Paulo Jose Mutuc & Ganeshan Wignaraja, 2014. "Does Finance Really Matter for the Participation of SMEs in International Trade? Evidence from 8,080 East Asian Firms," Trade Working Papers 24047, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    4. Guna Raj Bhatta, 2014. "Structural Change and Per Capita Income in Nepal: Empirical Evidences," NRB Economic Review, Nepal Rastra Bank, Research Department, vol. 26(2), pages 41-60, October.
    5. Vannarith CHHEANG, 2017. "FDI, Services Liberalisation, and Logistics Development in Cambodia," Working Papers DP-2016-39, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    6. Samuel Admassu, 2020. "An empirical analysis of the causal nexus between service trade and income," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 799-816, August.
    7. Claes G. Alvstam & Erja Kettunen & Patrik Ström, 2017. "The service sector in the free-trade agreement between the EU and Singapore: closing the gap between policy and business realities," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 75-105, March.
    8. Haroon Bhorat & François Steenkamp & Christopher Rooney & Nomsa Kachingwe & Adrienne Lees, 2016. "Understanding and characterizing the services sector in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 157, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Ganeshan Wignaraja, 2014. "Will South Asia Benefit from Pan-Asian Integration?," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 15(2), pages 175-197, September.
    10. Gitana Dudzevičiūtė, 2013. "Lithuanian manufacturing trends in the context of developed and developing countries," Post-Print hal-01694317, HAL.
    11. Justin Visagie & Ivan Turok, 2019. "The contribution of services to trade and development in Southern Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-37, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Anbumozhi, Venkatachalam & Kalirajan, Kaliappa, 2020. "South Asia’s Economic Integration with East Asia: An Exploratory Analysis with a Focus on India," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 35(1), pages 91-110.
    13. Peter W. Daniels & Pengfei Ni, 2014. "Urbanisation and changes in the sectoral structure of economic development: the scale of the manufacturing sector in Chinese cities and the shift towards service industry," Working Papers hal-00943972, HAL.
    14. Khatiwada, Sameer & Flaminiano, John Paul, 2019. "Prospects for Decent Work in Services," ADBI Working Papers 940, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    15. Ayhan Orhan & Dervis Kirikkaleli & Fatih Ayhan, 2019. "Analysis of Wavelet Coherence: Service Sector Index and Economic Growth in an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-12, November.
    16. Wignaraja, Ganeshan, 2014. "Assessing the Experience of South Asia–East Asia Integration and India’s Role," ADBI Working Papers 465, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    17. Haroon Bhorat & François Steenkamp & Christopher Rooney & Nomsa Kachingwe & Adrienne Lees, 2016. "Understanding and characterizing the services sector in South Africa: An overview," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-157, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Maisya Farhati & Raquel Ortega-Argilés, 2018. "Growth of service sector in BRIIC economies," Economic Journal of Emerging Markets, Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 10(1), pages 40-52, April.
    19. Valerie Mercer-Blackman & Christine Ablaza, 2018. "The Servicification of Manufacturing in Asia: Redefining the Sources of Labor Productivity," Working Papers id:12954, eSocialSciences.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Services; structural change; growth; productivity; Asia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L8 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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