Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI): Distribution Services

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for distribution services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40 countries, the 34 OECD members and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. The STRIs capture de jure restrictions. This report presents the first vintage of indicators for distribution services and captures regulations in force in 2013. The scores range between 0.02 and 0.40, with a sample average of 0.13. It is observed that the regulatory profile differs across countries. Restrictions on foreign ownership and other market entry conditions significantly contribute to the results for almost half of the countries covered by the STRI. The paper presents the list of measures included in the indices, the scoring and weighting system for calculating the indices and an analysis of the results.