This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for construction, architecture and engineering 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 paper proposes a new way of analysing the efficiency of dynamic market selection, based on the persistence of scale economies. The new methodology is used to investigate the causes of stagnating productivity growth in EU business services. An efficient market ensures that more productive...

This paper adopts the industrial capabilities argument and the concept of revealed comparative advantage as the basis for evaluating the competitiveness of the UK creative industries in sustaining export growth. The empirical results have revealed a heterogeneous nature of the economic linkages...

In recent years, development agencies (DAs) have focused their activities on consulting projects rather than on financing turnkey projects when assisting emerging markets. The main reason is that the implementation of consulting projects is likely to be connected with an intensive knowledge...

A unique database on individual tender documents is used to analyze the relationship between strategical factors and outcomes when technical consultancy firms (TCFs) compete for foreign assignments in the infrastructure sectors. TCFs, which sell services based on human capital, have a large...

A unique database on individual proposals is used to analyse competition among consulting firms (CFs) for international projects. CFs, which sell services based on human capital, focus on developing countries when operating abroad and, thereby, are highly dependent on development agencies (DAs)....

The newest wave of globalization is the offshoring of information technology, administrative and technical services (ITAS) from developed to developing countries. This article examines Mexico’s ability to take advantage of this opportunity, especially relative to India– the world’s largest...

A unique database on individual tender documents is used to analyze the relationship between strategical factors and outcomes when technical consultancy firms (TCFs) compete for foreign assignments in the infrastructure sectors. TCFs, which sell services based on human capital, have a large...

The persistent assumption of nontradability of service activities led to a general lack of understanding of the role of services in country specialization and performance, in particular in the developed economies. Yet, the share of services in international trade is ever growing, proving their...

This study was commissioned by the European Commission, Directorate General "Enterprise and Industry" and was completed at the end of 2005. The objective was to investigate the impact of the accession of new member states on the intra-European division of labour and on global competitiveness in...