Are services the future engines of export-led growth?
They certainly could be, but are not yet; the share of services in the value of total world trade has not changed much over the past decade. It has risen by less than one percentage point, from 18.4% in 1990 to 19.2% in 1998. And the corresponding data for developing countries actually show a slight decline, from 16.8% to 16.5%. Is regionalism the wave of the future? In fact, regionalism has been a rising trend for some time, particularly among developed countries; the share of intra-trade in total exports is already very high among APEC and EU countries, and the 1990s saw a strong growth in North America. But the past decade also witnessed the emergence of subregional blocs in Latin America and Asia. So far only Africa has bucked this trend. With its wide scope of statistical categories and indicators, the UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2000 is a tool for economic decision-making. It will serve those who need to grasp development trends quickly in particular countries and regions, as w
