Creating value in an interconnected world - The role of services

Global trade is undergoing rapid change through a fragmentation of production processes and the integration of emerging economies into the global market. A key factor in the expansion of global value chains (GVCs) is the role played by services activities. There would be no GVCs if well-functioning transport, logistics, finance, insurance, communication and other business services did not move goods, people and knowledge along the value chain. It is through services that companies coordinate and link stages of production. The OECD-World Trade Organization database on Trade in Value Added reveals that services account for over 30% of the value created in manufacturing value chains.