Servicification in Global Value Chains and Services Trade Restrictions in Asian Economies

Global value chains have recently changed structurally (“servicification”)—that is, service sectors’ involvement in global value chain processes has become more intensive. We quantify services trade restrictions’ contribution to underdevelopment of global value chain servicification across Asian economies—an underexplored area. The study applies the “structural” gravity trade model and constructs panel data based on the 2025 Trade in Value Added and the Services Trade Restrictiveness Index database developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The empirical analysis covers five major service sectors—trade, transport, I&C, finance, and professional services. First, global value chain servicification remains relatively underdeveloped in most emerging and developing Asian economies, particularly across several service categories. Second, services trade restrictions’ presence significantly and negatively affects global value chain servicification’s extent in these economies. Third, these restrictive measures account for approximately 30–60% of servicification’s observed underdevelopment. Regarding policy implications, removing or easing such trade restrictions could substantially promote global value chain servicification, enhancing productivity and integration for emerging and developing Asian economies.