The Role of International Standards in the Development of Global Value Chains

Upravlenie ◽  
10.12737/8792 ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-87
Author(s):  
Зуев ◽  
V. Zuev ◽  
Островская ◽  
Yelyena Ostrovskaya ◽  
Мануйлов ◽  
...  

This paper is devoted to the influence of standardization on emergence and development of global value chains (GVC). Nowadays trade in value added is the subject for heated debates. However, the role of standardization (in particular, international standardization) is highly underestimated. The study examines the history of the development of different types of standards, comparing different approaches to modeling the processes of standardization and develops recommendations for the economic policy of Russia on the basis of its present position in the GVC. At the moment, we can say unambiguously that standardization leads to the shift of firms from upstream stages of production to the field of design and marketing, where a greater chance to realize competitive advantages exists (downstream stages). For Russia, it means continuous improvement in the following areas: the development of large and small businesses in sectors that are not related to the energy, encouraging companies to establish supply chains and value chains, customer orientated businesses. In addition to the positive effects of standardization, the article also reviews some negative shocks. They occur when the standards are being introduced to small firms, or when accepted standards are not harmonized in accordance with international standards, or when there are no resources for modernization within the global value chain, or when there are no opportunities to move into new markets where standardization is lower, or when different standards are set to reach controversial objectives. Nevertheless, in all these cases, there are certain conditions which implementation will make standardization the most effective. These include, for example, a balance between the amount of the factor used in the production and the complexity of the technology. This condition is explained here both mathematically and by the example of the Chinese national program for certification of organic products. Thus, the importance of international standardization for the development of global value chains cannot be overstated, despite possible negative effects. That is why Russia should be actively involved in all of these processes in order to stimulate economic growth.

Author(s):  
K. Muradov

Traditional trade statistics that originate in customs records is inadequate to measure the complex interdependencies in today’s globalized economy, or what is known as the global value chains. The article focuses on Russia–ASEAN trade. The author applies innovative methods of measuring trade in value added terms in order to capture the unobserved bilateral linkages behind the officially recorded trade flows. First, customs and balance of payments sources of bilateral trade data are briefly reviewed. For user, there are at least two inherent problems in those data: the inconsistencies in “mirror” trade flows and the attribution of the origin of a traded product wholly to the exporting country. This results in large discrepancies between Russian and ASEAN “mirror” trade data and, arguably, their low importance as each other’s trade partners. Next, the author explores new data from inter-country input-output tables that necessarily reconcile bilateral differences and offer greater detail about the national and sectoral origin or destination of traded goods and services. Relevant data are derived from the OECD-WTO TiVA database and are rearranged to obtain various estimates of Russia–ASEAN trade in value added in 2009. The main finding is that sizable amount of the value added of Russian origin is embodied in third countries’ exports to ASEAN members and ASEAN members’ exports to third countries. As a result, the cumulative flow of Russia’s value added to ASEAN members is estimated to be 62% larger than the direct gross exports, whereas for China and South Korea it is, respectively, 21% and 23% smaller. The indirect, unobserved value added flows can be largely explained by the use of Russian energy resources, chemicals and metals as imported inputs in third countries (China, South Korea) and ASEAN members’ own production. The contribution of these inputs is then accumulated along the value chain. Finally, the most important sectoral value chains are visualized for readers’ convenience. So far, it’s apparent that Russia is linked to ASEAN countries through intricate production networks and indirectly contributes to their trade with third countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 214-236
Author(s):  
Christina Teipen ◽  
Fabian Mehl

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (02) ◽  
pp. 159-188
Author(s):  
SHENG ZHONG ◽  
BIN SU

This paper focuses on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—a major final assembler in production—where studies and evidence on the role of the region in global value chains are limited. We seek to provide new evidence regarding the extent and patterns of international fragmentation in ASEAN. To do so, we derive the foreign value-added shares of final products for all global value chains of ASEAN. Using the Asian Development Bank’s multiregional input–output tables for 2000–2017, we document a series of stylized facts. The results show declining foreign value-added shares in ASEAN. Regional economic integration within ASEAN has increased, while value-added contributions vary widely across its members. We find evidence of increasing value-added contributions from emerging economies to ASEAN, whereas the contributions from advanced economies have declined.


2020 ◽  
Vol 252 ◽  
pp. R19-R32
Author(s):  
Robert Marschinski ◽  
David Martínez-Turégano

The EU´s falling share in global manufacturing has fuelled concerns about an overall loss of EU competitiveness, in particular vis-à-vis China. We analyse the empirical evidence underlying these concerns by applying a newly developed decomposition technique to global input-output data spanning the years 2000 to 2014. Our results confirm the diminishing role of the EU in manufacturing value chains, but also show that this is mostly, by nearly 75 per cent, a consequence of the geographical and sectoral reallocation of global demand, reflecting the lower economic growth in the EU relative to the rest of the world. Still, the other almost 25 per cent of the EU’s loss of global share is explained by its lower participation in manufacturing value chains, which confirms a downturn in EU competitiveness. By extending the analysis to individual manufacturing activities we show that this general trend is more pronounced for low-tech (e.g. textiles) than high-tech sectors, with pharmaceuticals emerging as the most resilient EU industry. Policy concerns appear to be most warranted for electronics, a key sector for which the EU´s global share fell even more than for overall manufacturing, without evidence that EU value added from upstream service inputs could significantly mitigate this trend.


2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Ambroziak

This paper aims to present the role of Germany in the global value chains (GVCs) of 10 Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) in 1995–2011. GVCs, being a result of the fragmentation of production processes, have changed the nature of economic globalisation. The study covers five Central European countries (CECs) (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia), the three Baltic States (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia) as well as Bulgaria and Romania. Germany is chosen because it is the main trading partner of the majority of the CEECs. The illustration of the position of Germany in GVCs of the CEECs is based on trade statistics in value added terms. The research results show that Germany has become an engine of increasing integration of the CECs in the GVCs. The role of Germany as a supplier of inputs to the CECs’ exports (backward linkages) is larger than its role as an exporter of value added originating from the CECs (forward linkages).


Author(s):  
Anna Maksymenko

The article is devoted to overview of methodological approaches to the analysis of the global value chains. Value chain is a full range of activities which is done by firm or employees in order to bring a product from its conception to its end use. This also includes activities such as design, production, marketing, distribution and support to the final consumer. Global value chains (GVC) involve different type of firm from different countries in such activities. The paper emphasizes that this research topic is interdisciplinary. Topics in GVC literature include variety of aspects: impact of globalization on employment, horizontal and vertical links between enterprises in the chain, governance structure of organizing international production networks, supply and income distribution, spread of innovation and technology, firms’ upgrading etc. Generally, A. Morrison, C. Pietrobelli and R. Rabellotti have identified two different “schools” or approaches within the broad GVC literature: the internationalist approach and the industrialist approach. Typology of global value chains is quite developed topic. Such types as market type, modular type, relational type, captive type, hierarchy type of governance have been distinguished and described by foreign researches. Elements of modernization processes of the value chain have been highlighted. Approaches to upgrading of value added production can be considered as upgrading of products (and packaging), upgrading of processes, functional upgrading, inter-sectoral upgrading. Also concept of upgrading can relate to upgrading of value chain-network structure and upgrading of governance structures. The topic of barriers for integration in global value chains for developing countries is crucial. There are several factors affecting developing country competitiveness in GVCs: productive capacity, infrastructure and service, business environment, trade and investment policy, industry institutionalization. The main conclusions emerging from analytical overview presented in this article are that various approaches to GVCs analysis exist and that the choice of particular approach should be based on specific research topic which is investigated as well as data sources (e.g. firms’ business record, input-output tables, interviews with enterprises, business association, government officers etc).


Author(s):  
Andrea Gelei ◽  
Magdolna Sass

Purpose This paper aims to trace the performance consequences of within-lead firm reconfigurations of global value chains with respect to business performance and upgrading. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on two detailed company case studies which are analysed in an organizational design approach. Findings Lead firms systematically separate and internalize high value-added activities in otherwise low value-added processes leading to constant reconfigurations and reorganizations of the production processes in global value chains. The study finds that similar reconfigurations may trigger different changes and changes and performance consequences may differ considerably according to the level of analysis. The two cases help to understand the specific roles of the outsourcing and offshoring decisions in shaping actual global value chain structures. Originality/value The consequences of within-lead firm reconfigurations are rarely analysed in the literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Selwyn

The proliferation of global value chains is portrayed in academic and policy circles as representing new development opportunities for firms and regions in the global south. This article tests these claims by examining original material from non-governmental organizations’ reports and secondary sources on the garment and electronics chains in Cambodia and China, respectively. This empirical evidence suggests that these global value chains generate new forms of worker poverty. Based on these findings, the article proposes the novel Global Poverty Chain approach. The article critiques and reformulates principal concepts associated with the Global Value Chain approach – of value-added, rent and chain governance – and challenges a core assumption prevalent within Global Value Chain analysis: that workers’ low wages are a function of their employment in low productivity industries. Instead, it shows that (1) many supplier firms in the global south are as, or more, productive than their equivalents in the global north; (2) often predominantly female workers in these industries are super exploited (paid wages below their subsistence requirements) and (3) chain governance represents a lead firm value-capturing strategy, which intensifies worker exploitation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 693
Author(s):  
Trond Selnes ◽  
Else Giesbers ◽  
Sander W. K. van den Burg

The European seaweed sector transitions from harvesting wild stocks only to harvesting and farming seaweed. This transition comes with the need to rethink the role of the European sector on the global scale; insight is needed into the organization of, and innovation in, the global seaweed value chain. This article presents results from our study on value chains using Gereffi’s conceptual framework. A systematic review of scientific publications published between 2010 and 2020 was executed for five markets: pharmaceuticals, bioplastics, biostimulants, alginate and cosmetics. It is concluded that innovation in the use of seaweed takes place across the globe and thus that a focus on high-value applications alone will not set the nascent European seaweed sector apart from established producing regions such as Asia. The studied global value chains are organised around strong lead firms that require suppliers to produce according to codified product characteristics. The European seaweed sector needs to increase the collaboration and develop joint efforts to develop safe and sustainable products that meet the demands of regulators, lead firms and consumers. Stronger coordination in the value chain will facilitate further business development, by stimulating collaboration and innovations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-238
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kapela

AbstractLabor costs in Poland are relatively low in comparison to other European Union (EU) countries. After long period of functioning Poland in closed economy, conditions significantly weakened the level of its competitiveness in the international market. When the boards were opened in 1989, it became clear that cheap work force was one of the most important factors to attract foreign investments. At the same time, globalization and internationalization of production created opportunity for entrepreneurs to establish global value chains. Participation in global value chain (GVC) of Poland can extend international trade and increase gross domestic product (GDP). On the other hand, low wages attract investments in low-technology industries and, moreover, place Poland in the middle of value chains, where semi-products are assembled and new value added is exiguous. The aim of the article is: 1) to present polish participation in global value chain, 2) to analyze how much low labor costs contribute to degree of share in global value chain, and 3) to show how level of labor costs contribute to position in value chain and how does it influence on benefits from participating in GVC. In the article, the quantitative and qualitative assessment of Eurostat (European statistic) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) statistics data and research on labor costs carried out in Poland were analyzed. The research tools include a critical analysis of literature and descriptive analytical method. More than 50% of polish exports takes place within the global value chains. Low labor costs attract investors to allocate part of their production in Poland. Nevertheless, great part of export constitutes semi-products that do not create new value added so benefits from participation in GVC are not so considerable as expected. It is desirable to shift Poland toward beginning or the end of value chains, where profits are higher.


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