The myth of the service economy

Sergio Parrinello

No 55, Working Papers in Public Economics from Department of Economics and Law, Sapienza University of Roma

Abstract: In this article the author, after a critical assessment of the main notions of services developed in economics, presents a revised definition of services based on process analysis. A corresponding distinction is made between material and non-material goods, on the one hand, and services, on the other hand. The proposed definition is applied to extend Sraffa’s theory of prices and to clarify that the expansion of the service activities, as such, is not related to knowledge creation and information diffusion. It is suggested that the dynamics of such non-material factors, instead of being reflected by the change in the relative weights of goods and services, should be assessed on the basis of the change in the tasks and qualities of the labour force.

Keywords: Services; Process analysis; Classical Economics. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B12 D46 D57 E11 G1 L22 L8 L94 O14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32
Date: 2002-02
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Working Paper: The myth of the service economy (2003)
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