Course overview
The course is designed to build deep understanding of the local and global economic importance of the services sector. The course typically has a strong focus on the role of services in international trade and investment flows and the movement of natural persons. Close attention is given to international governance for services, for instance, in the WTO and in other multilateral organisations, and to trends in services governance in a variety of regional, bilateral and plurilateral intergovernmental agreements. The course provides a 21st Century approach to the role of services in a variety of contexts, such as, in global and regional value chains, in e-commerce, and in transformation towards the digital economy. The course also examines the vital role services and services trade can play in assisting with the economic growth and development of emerging and developing economies. The course includes a discussion of appropriate strategies for all countries, including developing countries to capture the benefits from trade in services. Identifying and addressing the key constraints to services sector competitiveness is a key theme of the course, including in the digital era. The course focusses on a number of services sectors that are highly traded, such as transport, distribution, financial, telecommunications, and logistics. It also provides some focus on services sectors of heightened interest to developing countries, for example, IT and business services outsourcing, professional services and tourism.
Course learning outcomes
- Explain the role of the services sector in economic development, international trade and global value chains in the modern global economy.
- Identify the key determinants and enabling factors of services sector competitiveness and efficiency.
- Analyse the principles behind, and state-of-play of, international rule-making and governance in the WTO, regional integration groupings and Free Trade Agreements with respect to services trade, investment and people movement as well as digital trade/e commerce.
- Identify areas in which developing country services businesses including SMEs may have an international competitive advantage (eg tourism including health tourism and information technology and business outsourcing) and where addressing constraints to growth of trade in these sectors can have an important positive impact on economic development.
- Experiment with formulating and presenting a national policy and regulatory strategy for services industry development
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The Student Contribution amount displayed below is for students commencing a new program from 2021 onwards. If you are continuing in a program you commenced prior to 1 January 2021, or are commencing an Honours degree relating to an undergraduate degree you commenced prior to 1 January 2021, you may be charged a different Student Contribution amount from the amount displayed below. Please check the Student Contribution bands for continuing students here. If you are an international student, or a domestic student studying in a full fee paying place, and are continuing study that you commenced in 2025 or earlier, your fees will be available here before enrolments open for 2026.