This is a background paper to the 2014 World Development Report. Risk is inherent to the pursuit of opportunity. This paper surveys the recent literature and looks at the risks and opportunities firms and their workers face in the global value chains. First, it examines the risk-sharing...

Multinational pharmaceutical corporations are searching for means to broaden their capacity for drug development while decreasing costs. Pharmaceutical firms in India and China are increasingly forging partnerships with these corporations to gain revenue and to develop their own expertise. These...

A challenge associated with the nutrition transition in developing countries (i.e., simultaneous presence of over-nutrition and under-nutrition, both being most prevalent in the poorest population segments) is the integration of their markets into the global economy. This integration determined...

This paper examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on resilience. We argue that resilience is not a one-dimensional concept but has different meanings at the levels of the firm (operational efficiency), global value chains (appropriate governance), and the nation-state (national security)....

The burgeoning literature on global value chains (GVCs) has recast our understanding of how industrial clusters are shaped by their ties to the international economy, but within this context, the role played by corporate social responsibility (CSR) continues to evolve. New research in the past...

This paper examines evidence on the potential and the conditions under which public-private partnerships can bring about inclusive development. It addresses the three main debates surrounding the potential of PPPs: the alignment of business and pro-poor development interests; the actors and...

Mobile phones have made a significant impact on developing countries, which have played a key role in the mobile phone global value chain (GVC). The dynamic of the GVC, notably growing concentration in trade and production and the rise of low-end markets, is shaping the impact of economic...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the global value chain (GVC) approach to understand the relationship between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and the changing patterns of global trade, investment and production, and its impact on economic and social upgrading. It aims to...

A key challenge in promoting decent work worldwide is how to improve the position of both firms and workers in value chains and global production networks driven by lead firms. This article develops a framework for analysing the linkages between the economic upgrading of firms and the social...

In this article, we apply global value chain (GVC) analysis to recent trends in the global automotive industry, with special attention paid to the case of North America. We use the three main elements of the GVC framework firm-level chain governance, power and institutions to highlight some of...