Global Value Chains: Evidence, Impacts and Policy Issues

The past decades have witnessed a strong trend towards the international dispersion of value chain activities such as design, production, marketing, distribution, etc. Different stages in the production process are increasingly located across different economies and intermediate inputs like parts and components are produced in one country and then exported to other countries for further production and/or assembly in final products. This paper analyses the existing evidence on Global Value Chains (GVCs), including the role of emerging countries like China and the distribution of value within GVCs. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy issues raised by GVCs.