Global trade, sustainability, and social impact

Global value chains link together the firms, workers, and regulations spread across multiple countries that collectively design, produce, and deliver the goods people buy every day. Researchers examine how power is distributed along these chains — who sets the rules, who captures the value, and whether private instruments like certification schemes and sustainability standards can meaningfully improve labor conditions and environmental outcomes when public regulation is absent or uneven. A persistent open question is whether suppliers in lower-income countries can move into higher-value activities through upgrading, or whether chain governance locks them into a narrow role. Scholars are also probing the limits of voluntary private governance, asking when it genuinely changes firm behavior and when it functions more as reputational cover without altering the conditions of the workers and communities most affected.

Works

67,764

Total citations

530,364

Keywords

Global Value ChainsProduction NetworksPrivate GovernanceStandardsUpgradingLabor Conditions