Global trade, sustainability, and social impact

Global value chains describe how the design, production, and sale of a single product are typically split across multiple countries, each contributing a distinct slice of the work and value. Researchers in this space examine who sets the rules governing those chains — not just governments, but retailers, industry coalitions, and certification bodies that write standards for labor practices, environmental performance, and product quality — and how those rules shape conditions for workers and suppliers in lower-income economies. A central puzzle is whether private governance mechanisms like fair-trade labels or supplier codes of conduct genuinely improve outcomes or mainly serve to manage reputational risk for lead firms. Active work is probing how suppliers can move into higher-value activities over time, and whether the sustainability commitments now common in corporate supply chain strategies translate into measurable change on the ground.

Works

66,303

Total citations

525,934

Keywords

Global Value ChainsProduction NetworksPrivate GovernanceStandardsUpgradingLabor Conditions