TUESDAY, 23 MAY 2017, 13:00-14:30

VENUE: ITC, PLENARY ROOM (ROOM 4, 5, 6)

BOOK LAUNCH:
“THE FACTORY-FREE ECONOMY: OUTSOURCING,
SERVITIZATION, AND THE FUTURE OF INDUSTRY”
Edited by Lionel Fontagné and Ann Harrison, Oxford University Press, 2017

The digital revolution is creating something entirely new: a ‘factory-free’ economy. The term describes
an economy in which manufacturing as we knew it is vanishing. The comparative advantage of
emerging economies shifted towards more advanced goods and their growing populations
commanded an increasing share in global demand. The evidence gathered by Lionel Fontagné and
Ann Harrison in this book suggests that de-industrialization is a process that happens over time in all
countries, even China. One implication is that criticism of China is not likely to provide a solution to
these long term trends. Another implication is that the distinction between manufacturing and services
is likely to become increasingly blurry. One optimistic perspective suggests that firms in industrialized
countries may be able to exploit the high-value added and skill-intensive activities associated with
design and innovation, as well as distribution, which are all components of the global value chain for
manufacturing.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME
12:30 - 13:00 Arrival, buffet lunch and networking
13:00 - 13:30 Welcome addresses
Ms. Aicha Pouyé, Director, Division of Market Development, ITC
Overview of the book
 Mr. Lionel Fontagné, Professor of Economics, University Paris Sorbonne
 Ms. Marion Jansen, Chief Economist, ITC
13:30 – 14:30 Panel discussion
 Mr. Robert B. Koopman, Chief Economist and Director of the Economic
Research and Statistics Division, WTO,
 Mr. Nicholas Niggli, Director General at the Directorate General for Economic
Development, Research and Innovation, Republic and State of Geneva, former
Swiss WTO negotiator,
 Mr. Xiankun Lu, Associate Partner, IDEAS Centre, former Chinese WTO
negotiator,
 Mr. Stephen Pursey, Director, Department for Multilateral Cooperation, ILO and
G20 co-ordinator.
Moderation: Ms. Iris Hauswirth, Chief, Strategic Planning, Performance &
Governance, ITC.

Lionel Fontagné is Professor of Economics at the Paris School of Economics, Université Paris I
Panthéon Sorbonne, and the Director of the Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne (UMR 8174 CNRS,
Paris). He has been the Director of the Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations
Internationales (CEPII, Paris) from 2000 to 2006. He is also a member of the Conseil d'Analyse
Economique (Council of Economic Analysis to the French Prime Minister), a scientific advisor to
CEPII, and a CESifo Research Fellow. He has published extensively in international journals on
international trade and integration issues.

Additional information on the book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-factory-free-

economy-9780198779162?cc=ch&lang=en&#