Understanding the New Global Economy

5

Global intangibles

DOI: 10.4324/9781003057611-5

Unlike trade in goods, trade in commercial services has been continuously rising in the past years, and most recently outpaced the stalling trade in goods (Figure 5.1). Moreover, many advanced countries, while often experiencing deficits in merchandise trade, are exhibiting trade surpluses in intangibles. Services have long been viewed as non-tradable, or at least costly to trade. Digitalisation is changing this rapidly. The very combination of a high share of labour in producing services and drastically falling trading costs in digital delivery across borders, makes services a potential key driver of a fourth wave of globalisation. This chapter explores the increasing tradability of services, ...