[Excerpt] This book takes an in-depth look at the barriers that stand in the way of service sector development in Asia to systematically assess the prospects for the sector to be an engine of growth. It covers a number of themes that are relevant for the sector throughout the region including trade, foreign direct investment, the relationship between services and growth, and the emerging information technology–business process outsourcing industry. It also includes studies on the service sectors of five major Asian economies: the People’s Republic of China, India, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. The book is the key output of an ADB regional technical assistance research project financed by the e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund established by the Republic of Korea at the Asian Development Bank. The project benefited from in-depth collaboration with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, one of the world’s top think tanks.