
7 UNU-WIDER articles, publications, projects, experts...
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Working Paper
Spreading the gains?Regional integration is making steady progress in Africa and a key objective is to improve the prospects for industrialization by expanding the regional market. This paper draws on a combination of trade data analysis and industry case studies to...
Blog
Promoting industrialization in Africa: Global versus regional value chainsAs COVID-19 ravages international trade and production, policy-makers are shifting their sights from global value chains (GVCs) to regional value...
Working Paper
Pulling up or binding down: a review of upgrading trajectories in apparel and agro-processing global value chains for developing countriesThere exist a plethora of developing country value chain studies based on a variety of methodological approaches, both in the academic literature and through policy reports. However, there has been little systematic synthesis of the findings and...
Working Paper
Trade, technology, and absorptive capacityTrade-linked technological change has potential to increase incomes in low-income countries (LICs). The most labour-intensive segments of the textiles and apparel global value chain are in LICs. However, gaps between available technologies and best...
Working Paper
Labour conditions in regional versus global value chainsWe explore how decent work varies across Southern Africa apparel firms participating in global value chains (GVCs) and regional value chains (RVCs), respectively. We draw on cross-section survey data from 135 workers in 31 firms across Eswatini and...
Working Paper
Value chain directionality, upgrading, and industrial policy in the Tanzanian textile and apparel sectorsWith recent changes in the global economy, policy makers are increasingly turning from global value chains to regional and national value chains as drivers of structural transformation in the global South. This paper examines economic and social...
Research Brief
Deepening regional integration in Southern AfricaRegional integration is making steady progress in Southern Africa, leading to the development of regional value chains (RVCs) that could strengthen the competitiveness of the region. Importantly, the development of RVCs also creates pressure for...