Services exports and developing countries: competitiveness challenges according to mode of supply

Abstract:
This research looks at how competitive developing countries are in exporting services and at the instruments and tools that they can use to become credible competitors of developed economies in service exports. The analysis focuses on several case studies assessed by the existing economic literature, the lessons that developing countries can draw from those experiences, the role that enterprises, institutions and governments can play to increase the competitiveness of developing countries and the measures and tools they can use to achieve their objective.
The research aims at showing that a developing country could become competitive in service exports as long as it implements a series of measures aimed primarily at improving the country’s human capital and infrastructures, making institutions play a more active role in assisting enterprises and governments and encouraging policymakers to adopt adequate policies in support of service exports. The measures change according to type of service,
mode of supply, stakeholder and objective to be achieved. The research will also highlight the statistical limits and difficulties that countries, especially developing economies, face in properly assessing trade in services.