Servitization across countries and sectors: Evidence from world input-output data

This paper uses the supply tables underlying WIOT data to explore the provision of services by manufacturing. The service shares differ substantially across countries and sectors, while they remain largely stable over time. A latent class analysis assigns broadly defined manufacturing sectors to economy-wide growth models, differentiating between service- and manufacturing-driven models in catching-up and developed economies. Servitization increases with labor productivity. The service intensities in the sectoral production mix are lower in countries with higher manufacturing shares. This holds for both catching-up and developed economies. However, servitization is largely unrelated to productivity and employment growth. We therefore argue that the degree of servitization is contingent on and an attribute of the respective economic model in which a sector operates.