These essays discuss the service sector, an often neglected area of economic study. The contributors agree that services are replacing manufacturing as the employment base in more advanced economies. Their essays provide valuable insight into the causes, problems and prospects of this transition. Commissioned for the Wharton-ARA Conference on the Service Economy, this collection examines the rise of the prevailing economic order in the United States, Japanese, and international economies and the future and potential of the service sector. The volume concludes with an agenda for future research and policy of the service company.