服務業發展理論綜述－－兼論美國服務業的發展

經濟社會的發展，大致都經由農業掛帥，再進入工業為主，而後走向服務業主導的演進歷程。台灣自二次世界大戰結束，到21世紀初的發展也不例外。現階段政府有「策略性服務業」的規劃及發展策略，而世界貿易組織(WTO)也有「服務業貿易總協定」(GATS)，顯見服務業已是當前全球主流產業。不過，服務業雖日漸受到關注和重視，但其真實面目、意涵卻模糊不清，甚且還曾遭遇「污名化」的對待。本文試圖釐清服務業的根本意涵，並剖析服務業被污名化歷史，藉以陳述服務業與經濟發展的關係；接著再說明政策意涵，並提供我國參與WTO服務業市場開放談判之啟示；最後以美國這個最先進國家為例，觀察其服務業的發展，或可供我們作參考。

This article comprises two main parts. The first part, which reviews the theory of overall development for general service industries, contains four sections. Section one clarifies the definition of service. Section two draws on the views of Peter Hill, a member of the European Economic Commission, to highlight differences between commodities and services, service-oriented commodities, and image-oriented commodities. Section three discusses the relationship between service industries and economic growth, and, in the light of Adam Smith’s poor opinion of service industries, recalls the disregard in which the service sector has been held throughout history. Section four expounds policy implications, proffers insights required to understand the economic theorization, and elucidates on the WTO negotiations on trade in services.
The second part of the paper, which focuses on the development of service industries in the United States, utilizes the U.S. national income statistics and employment structure to analyze the emergence and development of the American service sector. It also examines in some detail U.S. trade in services during the period from 1987 to 2002.