Health ministries around the world face a new challenge: to assess the risks and respond to the opportunities of the increasing openness in health services under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). 'International Trade in Health Services and the GATS' addresses this challenge head-on by providing analytical tools to policymakers in health and trade ministries alike who are involved in the liberalization agenda and, specifically, in the GATS negotiations. This book informs and assists policymakers in formulating trade policy and negotiating internationally. There is ongoing and animated international debate about the impact of GATS on public services in general and health in particular. In response, the book offers different perspectives from more than 15 leading experts. Some of the authors stress opportunities linked to trade in health services, others focus more on the risks. The book offers: Detailed legal analysis of the impact of the agreement on health policy An overview of trade commitments in health-related services New empirical evidence from nine country studies A simple 10-step explanation on how to deal with GATS negotiations. 'International Trade in Health Services and the GATS' is a must-have resource for policymakers and other practitioners working in the trade and health sectors.

UNCTAD-WHO Joint Publication edited by Simonetta Zarrilli of UNCTAD's Trade in Services Section and Colette Kinnon of WHO's Task Force on Health Economics. This publication, prepared with the support of WHO, compiles papers issuing from the UNCTAD Expert Meeting on Strengthening the Capacity and Expanding Exports of Developing Countries in the Services Sector: Health Services (June 1997). The first part explores a broad range of questions that both developing and industrialized countries may wish to bear in mind as they weigh up the opportunities and drawbacks of fostering trade in health services. The second part focuses on the development perspective, and contains case studies from countries in the developing world. [English only].

Contains selected papers presented at the inter-regional meeting on health and trade issues, held in Washington DC in November 1999. The principal objective of the meeting was to identify and explore options for co-operation between the health service and trade sectors, in order to effectively develop health protection and promotion strategies.

Once exports and imports meant agriculture and industry. Today, in the global economy and the electronic age, trade is also expanding into the service sector. This timely book closely examines trade in health. Professor David Reisman offers a comprehen

This paper examines the impact of modernisation of the health system on foreign trade in health services in Chile during the period 1983-1999. It establishes linkages between specific aspects of reform and modernisation of the health sector and imports and exports of specific services produced or required by the health system. A description is given of the modernisation and reform process which has the potential to promote foreign trade in the area of health and a number of theories are outlined in this respect. It examines the effective influence of modernisation and health reform linkages on the export and import of health services. The conclusions are that modernisation and health reform in Chile have contributed to an internationalisation of health, and that the development of trade in health-related services and goods is an important and growing part of this process.