A portrait of trading firms in the services sectors: Comparable evidence from four EU countries

We establish a set of stylised facts for trade and trading firms in five market services sectors using comparable firm-level and services data from four EU countries. Our analysis shows that exports account for much lower shares of overall sales in the services sectors than in manufacturing. In line with this there are also fewer firms engaged in trade in the services sectors than in manufacturing; trade intensities, in turn, vary by services sector and country. Trade by services firms is somewhat less dominated by firms that both export and import than trade by manufacturing firms. In terms of value, trade in services is considerably more important than in manufacturing, yet the majority of services firms trade mostly goods. Larger and more productive firms are more likely to be two-way traders and to engage in both goods and services trade. Few firms export many services or to many countries. Those firms that export services to many countries account for a large share of export value; this is not the case for all countries for the firms which export many services.