Services

The report argues that services are no longer just support functions for manufacturing but are central drivers of global value added and economic growth. It highlights the 'servicification' of the economy, where digitalization allows services to fragment into cross-border value chains, enabling developing countries to leapfrog traditional industrialization. The document emphasizes that regulatory barriers, particularly regarding data flows and professional licensing, are now the primary obstacles to services competitiveness.

• Services provide a significantly higher proportion of value added in global exports than traditional balance-of-payments measurements suggest. When measured in Trade in Value Added (TiVA) terms, the share of services in global exports rose from an average of 23% in 2008 to 45% by the end of 2012.
• Digitalization is transforming the nature of production, leading to 'servicification' where data becomes a critical intermediate input. The report predicts that additive manufacturing (3DP) may replace over 50% of manufacturing processes, shifting the value chain toward pre-printing knowledge-intensive services like design and engineering.
• The 'services revolution' has provided an alternative development path for latecomers, allowing some developing countries to move directly from agrarian economies to services outsourcing. By 2013, a quarter of the least-developed countries (LDCs) were net services exporters, with average services export growth between 2007 and 2011 nearly doubling the world growth rate.
• Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are highly active in services GVCs, often more so than in manufacturing. In the Philippines in 2016, MSMEs constituted 99.57% of all businesses, with over 80% in services and 60% of exporters being MSMEs.
• Services are essential for industrial sustainability and the deployment of renewable energy. Environmental services and high-value engineering are critical for 're-manufacturing' heavy equipment, which reduces raw material demand and waste through 'dematerialization'.
• Women represent roughly half of the global employment in services, with higher participation rates than in manufacturing or agriculture. In the APEC region, more than 65% of women work in the services sector, and women-owned companies are more prevalent in online trade than offline trade.
• Domestic regulatory disconnects and a lack of international harmonization are the primary barriers to services trade. Key irritants include restrictive work permits, non-recognition of professional licenses across borders, and lack of governance on cross-border data flows.

APA

Drake-Brockman, J. (2018). Services. World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WP_Global_Value_Chain_Policy_Series_Services_report_2018.pdf

Chicago

Drake-Brockman, Jane. Services. World Economic Forum, 2018. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WP_Global_Value_Chain_Policy_Series_Services_report_2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Drake-Brockman |first1=Jane |title=Services |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=June 2018 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WP_Global_Value_Chain_Policy_Series_Services_report_2018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{drakebrockman2018services, author = {Drake-Brockman, Jane}, title = {{Services}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WP_Global_Value_Chain_Policy_Series_Services_report_2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }