This book investigates how global value chain governance, public institutions and strategies in the area of industrial policy and industrial relations by stakeholders such as national or global trade unions, governments, companies or international NGOs shape upgrading in the Global South. A special feature is its interdisciplinarity, combining sociological, economic, legal and political dimensions. Case studies systematically compare different industry trajectories. Furthermore, it encompasses far-reaching insights into the role of global value chains for development, economic catching-up of countries and socio-political aspects such as working conditions and interest representation.

The OECD Skills Outlook 2017 shows how countries can make the most of global value chains, socially and economically, by investing in the skills of their populations.

Studies conceptual foundations of GVC analysis, twin pillars of 'governance' and 'upgrading', and detailed cases of emerging economies.

Global value chains (GVCs) are a key feature of the global economy in the 21st century. They show how international investment and trade create cross-border production networks that link countries, firms and workers around the globe. This Handbook describes how GVCs arise and vary across industries and countries, and how they have evolved over time in response to economic and political forces. With chapters written by leading interdisciplinary scholars, the Handbook unpacks the key concepts of GVC governance and upgrading, and explores policy implications for advanced and developing economies alike. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial}

The interaction of sustainability governance and global value chains has crucial implications the world over. When it comes to sustainability the last decade has witnessed the birth of hybrid forms of governance where business, civil society and public actors interact at different levels, leading to a focus on concepts of legitimacy within multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs). Based in over 15 years of theoretical engagement and field research, Business, Power and Sustainability draws from both labour-intensive value chains, such as in the agro-food sector (coffee, wine, fish, biofuels, palm oil), and from capital-intensive value chains such as in shipping and aviation, to discuss how sustainability governance can be best designed, managed and institutionalized in today’s world of global value chains (GVCs). Examining current theoretical and analytical efforts aimed at including sustainability issues in GVC governance theory, it expands on recent work examining GVC upgrading by introducing the concept of environmental upgrading; and through new conceptions of orchestration, it provides suggestions for how governments and international organizations can best facilitate the achievement of sustainability goals. Essential reading on the governance of sustainability in the twenty-first century.

This book focuses on the changing gender patterns of work in a global retail environment associated with the rise of contemporary retail and global sourcing. This has affected the working lives of hundreds of millions of workers in high-, middle- and low-income countries. The growth of contemporary retail has been driven by the commercialised production of many goods previously produced unpaid by women within the home. Sourcing is now largely undertaken through global value chains in low- or middle-income economies, using a 'cheap' feminised labour force to produce low-price goods. As women have been drawn into the labour force, households are increasingly dependent on the purchase of food and consumer goods, blurring the boundaries between paid and unpaid work. This book examines how gendered patterns of work have changed and explores the extent to which global retail opens up new channels to leverage more gender-equitable gains in sourcing countries.

This book studies labour conditions in GVCs in a variety of sectors and across several Asian countries.

Globale Wertschöpfungsketten (GWK) bieten überall auf der Welt Möglichkeiten für ökonomische und soziale Aufwertung? Das kolportieren zumindest Institutionen wie die Weltbank. Diese Annahme ist jedoch weder theoretisch noch empirisch haltbar, so der Befund von Christin Bernhold. Die Argumentation stützt sich auf eine ideologiekritische Diskussion der GWK-Forschung und eine umfassende Analyse von Upgrading-Strategien im argentinischen Agribusiness. Wirtschaftsverbände organisieren sich dort entlang von Agrar-Wertschöpfungsketten, um Partikularinteressen durchzusetzen. Durch »upgrading in and through class differentiation« werden Ausbeutungsverhältnisse und die ungleichen Geographien des Kapitalismus zum Wohle einiger weniger umgeformt, nicht aber aufgehoben.

The Oxford Handbook of Offshoring and Global Employment deals with a key issue of our time: How do globalization, economic growth and technological developments interact to impact employment? The book brings together eminent authors from a wide range of countries around the world, drawing on their diverse academic and policymaking backgrounds, and specific national or regional settings to assess how global economic changes have affected employment opportunities. The book is unique in a number of ways - It has a global reach, presenting analyses and viewpoints from both developed and developing countries, from all continents; its timing and context is particularly instructive, since most papers are located in the aftermath of the global financial crisis; and it addresses a wide range of questions-How do different types of offshoring and global linkages impact employment? How is the skill mix of the labor force impacted by globalization? How do institutional structures and regulations influence the outcome of globalization in developed and developing countries? Individual chapters analyze how the impact of global linkages on national economies is mediated through a number of structural aspects of the economy - its institutional and industrial structure, its resource base, its predominant firm type, its comparative advantage, and its regulatory practices. The chapters in the book cover both manufacturing and services sectors, and many chapters also address policy issues regarding innovation and job creation.

The African Economic Outlook 2014 analyses the continent’s growing role in the world economy and predicts two-year macroeconomic prospects. It details the performance of African economies in crucial areas.