A Research On The Economic Effects Of Barriers To The International Trade In Services

With the development of globalization and localization, trade in services has become a new trend, which plays a more and more important part in international trade. But, because of its special characteristics, trade in services has been a profitable and politically sensitive area in the world. And it is also a most competitive and protective market. Most countries have set up barriers to restrict the entry of foreign services products, among which non-tariff barriers weigh most.We notice that a nation could set up its trade barriers either by discriminatory prices and fussy examinations to increase the prices of foreign services per unit, reducing its competitiveness and thus protecting domestic markets(called AC-typed barriers); or by establishing relevant policies which might increase market-entry costs of foreign services suppliers, boosting the uncertainty of their multinational activities which may affect their ultimate decisions-making process(called FC-typed barriers). This thesis, from the start, dwells on the effects of AC-typed barriers to trade in services in international trade. Our studies reveal AC-typed barriers to trade in services pose a negative effect on international trade, and they also cast shadows upon a country's economy. The removal of the barriers to trade in services will come up with a positive result for a country's economy and the world as a whole.Based on the above, we also investigate the FC-typed barriers to trade in services. We notice that this type of trade barriers exists mostly in the bilateral and multilateral trade practices, represented by different qualification standards, quality requirements, and labor standards, etc. Through the analysis of economic effects caused by the FC-typed barriers in terms of the response functions of service suppliers, we confirm the existence of this type of trade barriers. By comparison, we also notice that nations with little policy heterogeneity have a different impact on bilateral and multilateral trade with those characterized by heterogeneous national product market regulations. Our studies reveal that policy heterogeneity could do cast negative shadows on trade...