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The research aims to examine how telecommunications regulations affect services trade, especially in the context of digital services.

February 2, 2026Open Access

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Services Trade Under the WTO

HNHildegunn Kyvik Nordås

Key Points

The research aims to examine how telecommunications regulations affect services trade, especially in the context of digital services.
Utilized structural gravity modeling with best practice methods including Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood.
Applied three-way fixed effects to account for unobserved characteristics.
Focused on the effects of the Reference Paper on trade patterns over time.
Found that scheduling the Reference Paper correlates with increased services trade.
Observed a shift towards digitally deliverable services over time.
Did not find evidence supporting a shift from commercial presence to cross-border trade.

Abstract

This article studies the role of the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the Reference Paper (RP) on telecommunications for the digital transformation of services trade, motivated by the special role assigned to telecommunications as the underlying transport means of all services. Using structural gravity applying recommended best practice (Poisson pseudo–maximum likelihood, three-way fixed effects and internal trade), it finds out that having scheduled the RP is associated with a boost in services trade and a shift over time towards digitally deliverable services. However, it does not find evidence that the RP and underlying domestic regulation have shifted trade from commercial presence towards cross-border trade. JEL Codes: F13, F14

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Services Trade Under the WTO

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