Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains

2022 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Social Upgrading

Global Value Chains and Industrial Relations in the Global South: Social Upgrading Paths in Different Industries

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 214-236
Author(s):  
Christina Teipen ◽  
Fabian Mehl
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Value Chain Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Chain Analysis ◽  
Governance Modes ◽  
Social Upgrading

Abstract The article compares social upgrading trends in four global value chains (apparel, automobiles, electronics and it services) and six developing and emerging economies (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Vietnam). It applies a framework, which combines analyses of industry-specific governance modes with recent theoretical approaches from the field of industrial relations. The empirical results show that prospects for social upgrading within similar segments of a particular value chain considerably depend on the national context. The article thus highlights the importance of integrating the role of national institutions into global value chain analysis in order to better explain variegated upgrading dynamics across different countries and industries.

scholarly journals Social upgrading and cooperative corporate social responsibility in global value chains: the case of Fairphone in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
BJÖRN JINDRA ◽  
FAITH HATANI ◽  
THOMAS STEGER ◽  
JOHANNES HIEMER
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Social Upgrading

Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains: Insights from Philippine Manufacturing Firms

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian R. Mendoza
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Labor Cost ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Labor Conditions ◽  
Skill Intensity ◽  
Economic Upgrading ◽  
Social Upgrading

This study explores results of the 2012 Survey on Adjustments of Establishments to Globalization (SAEG) to analyze the economic and social upgrading experience of Philippine manufacturers within global value chains (GVCs). Three broad patterns emerge from the data. First, firms with stronger GVC linkages tend to have better labor indicators than purely domestic producers. Second, the majority of manufacturers either experienced or missed economic and social upgrading simultaneously. Lastly, almost all social upgrading is accompanied by economic upgrading but economic upgrading may take place without a social component. Against this background, this study uses bivariate probit regression to model the joint determination of the two separate but interconnected upgrading outcomes. The results indicate that the covariates in the model can be categorized based on their statistical significance: purely economic (i.e., employment size, unit labor cost, high skill intensity, and the Kaitz dummy), purely social (i.e., training, female intensity, and foreign equity), and both (i.e., contractualization, and process and product innovations). These results have several important implications. First, GVC firms’ notion of social upgrading is closer to the softer components of working conditions than to traditional measurable indicators such as employment, wages, and efficiency. Second, the results suggest direct and indirect channels through which technological upgrading may generate desirable social outcomes: the direct channel highlights that innovation should be accompanied by skills development to sustain higher value creation while the indirect channel underlines the potential of innovation to create upward spirals in output, productivity, and, ultimately, labor conditions. Lastly, there are some indications that the social benefits of economic upgrading may not be evenly distributed among different types of employment. Overall, the results emphasize the need for a holistic upgrading experience that shifts the country’s comparative advantage from cheap labor to innovative local industries and highly skilled workers.

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