The increasing internationalization of supply chains is challenging our interpretation of conventional trade statistics, as traditional concepts such as country of origin or the distinction between goods and services become blurred. This publication, jointly produced by the WTO and the Institute of Developing Economies-Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO), focuses on the factors that have helped to shape global productions.

An accessible overview of political, economic, and strategic dimensions of global supply chains in a changing global political economy.

Global value chains (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled an unprecedented economic convergence: poor countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the growth of trade has been sluggish and the expansion of GVCs has stalled. Meanwhile, serious threats have emerged to the model of trade-led growth. New technologies could draw production closer to the consumer and reduce the demand for labor. And trade conflicts among large countries could lead to a retrenchment or a segmentation of GVCs. World Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains examines whether there is still a path to development through GVCs and trade. It concludes that technological change is, at this stage, more a boon than a curse. GVCs can continue to boost growth, create better jobs, and reduce poverty provided that developing countries implement deeper reforms to promote GVC participation; industrial countries pursue open, predictable policies; and all countries revive multilateral cooperation.

A collection of papers by some of the world's leading specialists on global value chains (GVCs). It examines how GVCs have evolved and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world. The approach is multi-disciplinary, with contributions from economists, political scientists, supply chain management specialists, practitioners and policy-makers. Co-published with the Fung Global Institute and the Temasek

This book investigates the process and mechanism of the capability development of East Asian local manufacturers, which has underpinned their phenomenal rise in the world's competitive landscape of industrial production during the last few decades.