Introduction: “Structural change in Asia: Can the services sector lead growth?”

Abstract

At one level much has been written on the relevance of the Clark-Kuznets etc. understanding of the structural transformation that accompanies economic development in Asia in general and the successful Asian industrialisers in particular. Now the debate has partly shifted to whether India illustrates the (speculative) possibility of a trajectory where the services sector leads growth. The latter question is seen as significant because the possibility of absorbing surplus labour in manufacturing is taken to be limited in the 21st century since the cross-border transfer of less labour-intensive technologies is much more rapid. Even in the case of successful Asian industrialisers (Japan, Korea, China), rapid expansion of manufactured exports has been crucial to make the classic transition. Since not all countries can achieve export success simultaneously, the "Indian alternative" is seen as attractive. We make the theme of the special issue a critical appraisal of this kind of viewpoint.