Valuing Trade in Services in Africa

SEBASTIAN SAEZ MILES MCKENNA BARAK HOFFMAN World Bank Group The increasingly important role of services in economies across Africa is challenging long-held theories of economic development. For decades, the typical first steps on the path out of poverty have been increased agricultural productivity followed by growth in the manufacturing sector. A larger share of services in an economy has traditionally been considered a destination far in the future, an area of comparative advantage for more advanced economies. Over the last few years, Africa has been growing along a very different trajectory. Across the region, agriculture’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) has declined and manufacturing, rather than growing as theory may have anticipated, has stagnated. Services, in contrast, are increasing as a share of total employment and GDP, driving value addition and providing critical inputs to boost other economic activities. Today the service sector has not only found its way onto the development agenda, but it has also become an agenda in its own right. Because countries have begun to seize opportunities within and through services, policymakers and economists need to question old assumptions and consider new implications. What is the role of services in structural transformation and overall competitiveness? Can this sector help to reduce poverty? Is it a viable export sector in Africa? At this point, there may be more questions than answers. For decades, the service sector has received scant attention, especially in Africa. Data are scattered, insufficient, and difficult to collect. However, using the best available data and analytical tools, we can begin to seek answers to these questions. In this context, this chapter examines the performance of services exports in Africa. A deeper analysis of trade statistics for countries in the region shows that service exports are much more significant for Africa than previously thought. The chapter also clearly illustrates the links among services and other sectors of the economy. By disaggregating value-added data, the importance of services as inputs to other export activities becomes much more evident, especially in exports of primary activities, such as agriculture and energy, and in exports of manufacturing. Based on this analysis, the chapter offers some insights to inform policies that can strengthen the competitiveness and export performance of the service sector in Africa. It also identifies how certain service trade policies, such as regulations that limit competition in service markets, have a negative impact on service exports. These findings support the argument that liberalization of the sector can contribute to service trade performance. To maximize potential gains, countries in Africa need to reduce the direct barriers to trade in services as well as the indirect ones that result from poor regulation.