Service Industries And Regions

The service sector in most advanced economies accounts for up to seventy percent of employment and GDP and, given its growing importance, has received much research attention over the last two decades. However, not very much attention has been paid to the relationship between this sector and both its territorial impact and regional effects. The main objective of this book is to offer a comprehensive approach to these aspects, focusing particularly on the location factors of service industries and the importance of some specific services, such as business services and knowledge and information services. The contributions have been prepared by well-known experts in the field from a wide number of countries. The focus of all contributions is not only on theoretical aspects, but also provides empirical analyses on specific countries and topics such as the geographical concentration, globalization impacts, foreign direct investments, and innovation.

The service sector in most advanced economies accounts for up to seventy percent of employment and GDP and, given its growing importance, has received much research attention over the last two decades. However, not very much attention has been paid to the relationship between this sector and both its territorial impact and regional effects. The main objective of this book is to offer a comprehensive approach to these aspects, focusing particularly on the location factors of service industries and the importance of some specific services, such as business services and knowledge and information services. The contributions have been prepared by well-known experts in the field from a wide number of countries. The focus of all contributions is not only on theoretical aspects, but also provides empirical analyses on specific countries and topics such as the geographical concentration, globalization impacts, foreign direct investments, and innovation.

This document presents a broad empirical picture of the national, regional, and urban structure of the Canadian economy. It identifies the factors which may be causing the relative shift towards employment in service industries and occupations, and shows that the lack of actual data on interregional flows of service outputs effectively precludes the empirical testing of regional general equilibrium models involving service industries. It concludes by bringing forth the regional policy implications embedded in the conceptual and empirical work on service industries.

Services industries account for almost three-quarters of both gross domestic product and employment in Canada, a trend that Canada shares with other G-7 countries. Furthermore, the services sector has been responsible for most of Canada's employment creation and much of its productivity growth over the past decade and the sector's importance to the Canadian economy continues to increase. Thirty renowned experts contribute to this volume, which is aimed at better understanding the dynamics of Canadian services industries and identifying the types of policies most likely to improve their innovation and productivity performance.

Manufacturing-led development has provided the traditional model for creating jobs and prosperity. But in the past three decades the conventional pattern of structural transformation has changed, with the services sector growing faster than the manufacturing sector. This raises critical questions about the ability of developing economies to close productivity gaps with advanced economies and to create good jobs for more people. At Your Service? The Promise of Services-Led Development (www.worldbank.org/services-led-development) assesses the scope of a services-driven development model and policy directions that can maximize the model’s potential.

First published in 1985. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

From the back cover: Over the past 15 years, Canada has seen a major restructuring of her economy as a result of spectacular growth in service sector industries. Other important changes include the feminization of the labour force, inceased part-time employment, wider use of technology, deregulation and globalization of trade. This study begins by reviewing competing hypotheses for the pattern of change in the service sector and follows through with an empirical account of these changes and an examination of the forces behind the employment adjustment in this sector. Policy questions arising from these observations are presented for future studies. The author has also developed two case studies to illustrate some common labour adjustment and industrial relations, and how actual companies approached these issues.