Like many developing economies, services have emerged as crucial economic activities in South Asia; yet, this cannot increase the rapid growth in the intra-trade in the region. To find out the service trade potential in the region, this article uses revealed comparative advantage indices to assess the comparative advantage and the indicative trade potential of different South Asian countries in various services sub-sectors. The study reveals that there stands complementarities in the trade of services as Pakistan and Sri Lanka have a competitive advantage in Transport Services, while India has a competitive advantage in Computer and Information Services and Other Business Services. In travel services, Maldives and Nepal possess competitiveness, while Bangladesh in Government Services. The study reveals that competitive services have not explored the potential yet. India being the most robust economy of the region must provide a pivotal role in making negotiations and commitments under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS), particularly in competitive services. JEL: F1, G2, F5

中文翻译：

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南亚服务贸易有潜力吗？

与许多发展中经济体一样，服务业已成为南亚重要的经济活动；然而，这并不能促进该地区内部贸易的快速增长。为了找出该地区的服务贸易潜力，本文使用显性比较优势指数来评估不同南亚国家在各个服务子行业的比较优势和指示性贸易潜力。研究表明，服务贸易存在互补性，因为巴基斯坦和斯里兰卡在运输服务方面具有竞争优势，而印度在计算机和信息服务以及其他商业服务方面具有竞争优势。在旅游服务方面，马尔代夫和尼泊尔具有竞争力，而孟加拉国在政府服务方面具有竞争力。研究表明，有竞争力的服务尚未发掘其潜力。印度作为该地区最强劲的经济体，必须在南亚区域合作联盟 (SAARC) 服务贸易协定 (SATIS) 下的谈判和承诺中发挥关键作用，尤其是在竞争性服务方面。JEL：F1、G2、F5