Freedom of association and living wages are two fundamental components of social upgrading in global value chains. However, in the apparel sector, the power afforded to lead firms due to industry consolidation has resulted in a squeeze on suppliers and on workers that is reflected in terms of...

Falling costs of coordination and communication have allowed firms in rich countries to fragment their production process and offshore an increasing share of the value chain to low-wage countries. Popular discussions about the aggregate impact of this phenomenon on rich countries have stressed...

Externalities play a central role in most theories of economic growth. We argue that international externalities, in particular, are essential for explaining a number of empirical regularities about growth and development. Foremost among these is that many countries appear to share a common long...