If the late 20th Century economy was marked by an explosion in goods trade following the elimination of barriers, both real and imagined, between East and West, then the early 21st Century could well be positioned to give rise to an equally explosion rate of trade in knowledge-intensive services across national borders. Services already represent the largest share of the global economy, accounting for nearly 71 per cent of global GDP, and the global services sector is growing faster than manufacturing. The current growth trajectory in services however may pale in comparison to future potential as thriving commercial enterprises, significant public infrastructure investments and a rapidly growing population of middle class consumers in emerging nations create significant new pockets of demand. The potential conclusion of a Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) would only add further momentum to the potential growth in this realm.

How to enable the exploitation of this potential through public and private action is the topic of a new project launched by the Centre for Digital Entrepreneurship and Economic Performance (DEEP Centre) through a partnership with the New York-based Markle Foundation. The Foundation’s Economic Future Initiative is designed to help U.S. policy makers  “build the American Dream for a new era by leveraging technology and advancing public and private leadership and individual action.”
The project will provide an in-depth analysis of the key tradeable service sectors that provide significant export opportunities, as well as present a series of case studies of public policy initiatives designed to better enable them.
For more information on this project contact Dan Herman, executive director of the DEEP Centre, via dherman@deepcentre.com