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Public services and the GATS

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  • Adlung, Rolf

Abstract

The status of public services is one of the most hotly debated issues surrounding the GATS. There are two approaches to distinguish such services from any other services: an institutional approach that focuses on the legal and institutional conditions governing supply (e.g. ownership status, market organisation), and a functional approach based on the policy objectives that may be involved (e.g. distributional and quality-related considerations, concepts of universal access). Given the wide range of institutional arrangements that exist in different jurisdictions, with significant variations over time, the former approach does not appear appropriate. The services provided by government-owned facilities, whose costs are covered directly by the State, may well be indistinguishable, for all practical purposes, from the services provided by private commercial operators, whose users (students, patients, passengers, etc.) are reimbursed. This paper discusses the relevance of the GATS for different organisational settings - from government monopolies to regulated and/or subsidized private provision - that may be used by WTO Members to meet typical public service objectives. It turns out that virtually all forms of organisation can be accommodated within the framework of the Agreement. To fully exploit its opportunities and avoid unpleasant surprises, however, governments would need to thoroughly analyse the relevant provisions in the light of their own policy objectives.

Suggested Citation

  • Adlung, Rolf, 2005. "Public services and the GATS," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2005-03, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:wtowps:ersd200503
    DOI: 10.30875/63a679e5-en
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rudolf Adlung, 2003. "The GATS negotiations: Implications for health and social services," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 38(3), pages 147-155, May.
    2. Shaffer, E.R. & Waitzkin, H. & Brenner, J. & Jasso-Aguilar, R., 2005. "Global trade and public health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(1), pages 23-34.
    3. WTO Economic Research and Analysis Division, 2001. "Market Access: Unfinished Business - Post Uruguay Round Inventory and Issues," WTO Special Studies, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division, volume 6, number 6.
    4. Rudolf Adhung, 2005. "Turning Hills into Mountains?Current Commitments under the GATS and Prospects for Change," Working Papers id:280, eSocialSciences.
    5. Markus Krajewski, 2003. "Public Services and Trade Liberalization: Mapping the Legal Framework," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 341-367, June.
    6. Adlung, Rudolf & Roy, Martin, 2005. "Turning hills into mountains? Current commitments under the GATS and prospects for change," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2005-01, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    7. Adlung, Rudolf, 2004. "The GATS turns ten: A preliminary stocktaking," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2004-05, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    8. Tuthill, Lee, 0. "The GATS and new rules for regulators," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(9-10), pages 783-798, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Koopmann Georg & Straubhaar Thomas, 2009. "Zur Internationalisierung des Dienstleistungssektors," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 60(2), pages 81-102, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    WTO; trade in services; public services;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General

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