Global value chains (GVCs) are changing the way trade is conducted and value is created and captured. As more trade is organized through close coordination between buyers and suppliers, moving to high value-added activities, or economic upgrading, is critically determined by lead firms,...

A key challenge in promoting decent work worldwide is how to improve the position of both firms and workers in value chains and global production networks driven by lead firms. This article develops a framework for analysing the linkages between the economic upgrading of firms and the social...