Global Production Networks

Abstract Accelerating processes of economic globalization have fundamentally reshaped the organization of the global economy towards much greater integration and functional interdependence through cross-border economic activity. In this interconnected world system, a new form of economic organization, termed global production networks (GPNs) in this book, has emerged that brings together a wide array of economic actors, most notably capitalist firms, state institutions, labour unions, consumers, and non-government organizations, in the transnational production of economic value. National and sub-national economic development in this highly interdependent global economy can no longer be conceived of, and understood within, the distinct territorial boundaries of individual countries and regions. Instead, global production networks are organizational platforms through which actors in these different national or regional economies compete and cooperate for a larger share of the creation, transformation, and capture of value through transnational economic activity. They are also vehicles for transferring the value captured between different places. This book ultimately aims to develop a theory of global production networks that explains economic development in the interconnected global economy. It provides robust answers to a fundamental question: how is development in different economies driven by their participation in value activities organized through global production networks? These answers can also offer new theoretical insights into why the organization and coordination of global production networks varies significantly between different industries, sectors, and economies, and why those variations matter for economic development.