Services Exports and SAARC Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Growth, Performance and Competitive Advantage

Abstract

Emerging new information processing and telecommunication technologies have given India an edge in exports of services. The analysis in this regard depicted that competitiveness and performance of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries in services exports is of crucial importance. The analysis in this paper is based on revealed comparative advantage methodology and covers the period 2002–2013. The evidence points out that India managed to produce and export modern services and gained comparative advantage and specialization due to supportive institutions and infrastructure. Further, services exports performance also evidently shows that India has emerged as the largest SAARC country in exports of services especially during the post WTO and GATS era. Therefore, the present study suggests India should invest in research and development of new technologies to produce quality services to further improve its position in world services exports.