In the context of recent commodity price hikes, a political consensus has emerged on regulatory measures to reduce excessive speculation in commodity derivative markets. This paper gives an overview of current reform proposals of commodity derivate market regulation at the international (G20),...

Over the past three decades the global economy has witnessed the rise of organizationally fragmented and geographically dispersed global production networks (GPNs). An increasing amount of literature drawing on chain and network conceptualizations has accumulated on how these changes affect...

Over the past decade, several Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have developed or expanded export-oriented apparel industries in the context of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) quotas and preferential market access, most importantly under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)....

The electronics manufacturing sector has played a prominent role in export-oriented development strategies, as participation in this high-tech industry promises access to new technology, high skilled jobs and a fast-growing market. Against this background, many governments in Central and Eastern...

Value chain interventions are increasingly used by international organizations and national donor agencies in the context of their private sector development (PSD) activities. These interventions are broadly labeled as value chains for development and share common characteristics such as the...

The apparel sector has traditionally been a gateway to export diversification and industrial development for low-income countries (LICs). In the context of heightened competition and recent changes in the global apparel sector related to trade liberalization and global buyers' sourcing policies,...

The current commodity price boom in combination with high price volatility is historically unprecedented even in the volatile price history of commodities. Commodity price dynamics have crucial macroeconomic and development implications, in particular for commoditydependent low-income countries....

Many low-income countries (LICs) are integrated into apparel global value chains (GVCs) through foreign direct investment (FDI). This is also the case in Lesotho that has developed to the largest Sub-Sahara African (SSA) apparel exporter to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the apparel sector in several Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries has experienced significant growth in the context of preferential market access. But expectations of FDI leading to spillovers to the local economy and the development of locally-embedded apparel...

Regional suppliers still play an important role in the global apparel industry. By studying the experience of Romania's apparel sector, the paper highlights, first, the importance of multiscalar institutional, macro and policy contexts in analyzing the articulation of and up- and downgrading...