Firm participation in global value chains in francophone Africa: Can adoption of innovation make a difference?

Despite the growing evidence on the importance of African countries' participation in global value chains (GVCs), relatively little is known about the role of innovation. This paper tends to fill this gap by examining the effects of innovation on firms' GVC participation in francophone Africa. We rely on survey data covering over 9535 firms in 18 countries. Using propensity score matching and instrumental variable methods, we find strong evidence that innovation is positively related to firms' GVC participation, with large variation across innovation and GVC measures. We also find that the innovation impact varies according to firm size, with significant effects for small firms.