Global trade, sustainability, and social impact

Goods sold in one country are almost always made through long chains of suppliers, factories, and logistics firms spanning many others, and understanding how those chains are governed—who sets the rules, who benefits, and who bears the costs—is a central concern for researchers working on global value chains and production networks. A particular focus is on private governance: the standards, certification schemes, and audit systems that firms and industry groups use to regulate labor conditions and environmental practices in the absence of strong international regulation, and whether these mechanisms genuinely improve outcomes or mainly serve reputational ends. Researchers also examine how firms and workers in lower-income countries can move into higher-value activities—a process called upgrading—and how trade relationships, buyer power, and institutional context shape whether that movement is possible. Live debates include how state and non-state actors can be better coordinated to close enforcement gaps, and how the push for sustainability can be designed so that its costs do not fall disproportionately on the suppliers and workers least able to absorb them.

Works

65,566

Total citations

520,811

Keywords

Global Value ChainsProduction NetworksPrivate GovernanceStandardsUpgradingLabor Conditions