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Abstract
We work with a panel dataset on trade and FDI across a number of detailed service sectors for 178 countries, based on combined data from the OECD, IMF, EUROSTAT, and the BEA. To estimate degrees of service sector openness, we develop a two-stage estimator suitable for available balance-of-payments based services trade data, which lacks bilateral detail. The result is a set of comparable, detailed trade and FDI restriction indexes that spans time, sector, and country dimensions. For a smaller set of countries – the OECD -- we then examine the relationship of these indexes to regulatory indicators. Our estimates of service sector openness and related trade cost equivalents are invariant to domestic regulatory structure in the OECD.