Structure and Performance of the Services Sector in Transition Economies
This paper examines the structure and performance of the services sector in Eastern European and Central Asian countries during 1997-2004. Services represent an increasing share of total value added and employment with the major sub-sectors being w...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/09/8331496/structure-performance-services-sector-transition-economies http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7345 |
| Summary: | This paper examines the structure and
performance of the services sector in Eastern European and
Central Asian countries during 1997-2004. Services represent
an increasing share of total value added and employment with
the major sub-sectors being wholesale trade, retail trade,
inland transport, telecommunications, and real estate
activities. A clear divide separates EU-5 countries from
South Eastern European countries and Ukraine in terms of
services labor productivity. Although a large gap in
productivity also separates EU-8 countries from EU-15
countries, that gap was reduced from 1997 to 2004 as most
services sub-sectors experienced fast productivity growth.
High skill intensive sub-sectors and information and
communications technology producers and users have exhibited
higher productivity levels and growth rates relative to
other sub-sectors since 2000. The author finds a positive
effect of services liberalization on the productivity growth
of services sub-sectors. The author also finds a positive
and significant effect of services liberalization in both
finance and infrastructure on the productivity of downstream manufacturing. |
|---|