Global value chains, development and emerging economies
Gary Gereffi
#2015-047
In recent decades, profound changes in the structure of the global
economy have reshaped global production and trade and have altered the
organisation of industries and national economies into global value
chains (GVCs). As GVCs became global in scope, more intermediate goods
were traded across borders, and more imported parts and components were
integrated into exports. In 2009, world exports of intermediate goods
exceeded the combined export values of final and capital goods for the
first time. New governance structures reinforce the organisational
consolidation occurring within GVCs and the geographic concentration
associated with the growing prominence of emerging economies as key
economic and political actors. Emerging economies are playing
significant and diverse roles in GVCs. During the 2000s, they were
simultaneously major exporters of intermediate and final manufactured
goods (China, South Korea, and Mexico) and primary products (Brazil,
Russia, and South Africa). However, market growth in emerging economies
has also led to shifting end markets in GVCs, as more trade has occurred
between developing economies (often referred to as South-South trade in
the literature), especially since the 2008-09 economic recession. China
has been the focal point of both trends: it is the world's leading
exporter of manufactured goods and the world's largest importer of many
raw materials, thereby contributing to the primary product export boom.
JEL Classification: F16, F23, L25
Key words: Global Value Chains, Governance Structures, Economic
Upgrading, Social Upgrading, Emerging Economies, Industrial Policy,
China