Book Review: Elżbieta Bombińska, Modele świadczenia usług w handlu międzynarodowym

Abstract

It is vital to recognise the author’s selection of subject matter as appropriate and significant as it pertains to a crucial aspect within the two foremost global economic megatrends: globalisation and regional integration. As is commonly known, generally speaking, these megatrends revolve around the notable growth in economic connections between nations around the world and in various regions. In addition, with the dynamic and non-linear growth in the flow of goods, capital, technology, knowledge and the mobility of people, services play a crucial role as an integral component that contributes to these evolving dynamics. According to the author (p. 12), the growth rate of trade in services has far exceeded that of trade in goods in the past three decades. For instance, while the volume of trade in goods increased fourfold between 1995 and 2018, the value of global trade in services witnessed a fivefold increase. The reasons behind this phenomenon can be attributed to both internal and external factors. Internally, rapid economic development in several market-oriented countries after World War II resulted in increased prosperity, shifting consumption patterns, and a rise in the demand for services. This demand was also driven by the need to manage leisure time and address the ageing populations. Externally, a combination of technical, technological, economic, political, and socioeconomic conditions contributed to the complex landscape of exogenous factors influencing this trend. However, despite societies becoming more focused on providing services internally, the share of services in international trade has not increased. In 2018, the service sector accounted for two- thirds of global GDP and almost 60% of jobs, but according to balance of payments statistics, it only generated about 24% of the value of global trade. The author of the paper highlights this paradox, pointing to reasons such as the development of invisible IT services in cross-border trade and official restrictions on them, and argues that the fundamental issue lies in the underestimation of global trade in services, which is a result of how it is defined and measured.