China’s trade in services and asymmetric J-curve

Abstract

Almost all studies that tested the J-curve phenomenon, used trade data in only goods. Trade in service has received no attention until recently when one study tested the symmetric and asymmetric J-curve hypothesis using financial and insurance service data between the U.S. and its major partners. In this paper we add to this new literature by testing the symmetric and asymmetric J-curve effect using China’s service trade with rest of the world. We find support for the J-curve effect in six out of 12 service industries, symmetric in some and asymmetric in some others.