国际服务贸易双语2012版(1).docVIP

International Trade in Services FOREWORD The performance of the services sector is vital for growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. Directly because services are already a large if not the largest part of their economy. Indirectly because services like finance, communication, and transport, as well as education and health, affect other sectors of the economy and the productive potential of the people. Today, in many countries around the world, inadequate access to services hurts people, not just in their role as consumers, it also perpetuates poverty by undermining the productivity of firms and farms as well as their ability to engage in trade. When we talk about ‘‘trade’’ in services, it is not just trade in the conventional sense— where a product is produced in one country and sold to consumers in another country—but we mean the whole range of international transactions, including foreign investment and international movement of people, as consumers or providers of services. Thus, services ‘‘trade’’ encompasses: cross border trade in road and air transport; consumption by foreigners of tourism services; foreign direct investment in banking, communication, and distribution; and the temporary migration of doctors, teachers, and construction workers. Put this way, it is obvious that trade in services matters, not just for the state of the services sector but for overall economic performance. The World Bank and others have done considerable work on trade in goods. We have also been engaged in services sector reform in telecommunications, finance, transport, tourism, health, and education. What has received comparatively less attention is trade in services. Many countries have, of course, implemented significant reforms in services sectors, often with World Bank support, and liberalization has been a part of these reforms. But the outcomes have not always been satisfactory, especially in terms of improved access to services. It is essential to understan