Abstract This paper deals with the role of innovation in upgrading within global production networks (GPNs). Because of the distribution of production segments across firms and countries, there is also a distribution of production knowledge. The paper looks at some ways of upgrading by...

Abstract This paper deals with the impact of competition on the tourism network in China. It identifies the supply and demand conditions among service providers, tour operators and tourists that have led to the zero-fee tour and then deals with the impact of this intense price competition in...

Abstract India did not participate in the landline phone revolution but has seen an unprecedented growth in mobile phones, with over 919 million subscribers by the end of March 2012, making it second only to China in this sphere. The tele-density in rural India, where nearly 69 percent of the...

Abstract After a decade or more during which private codes to monitor supply chain and workplace standards have proliferated, recent years have seen the re-emergence of state-based initiatives to create more oversight and accountability across global value chains. In January 2012, the California...

Abstract The paper deals with the role of tourism in reducing poverty in upland economies. Taking cases from China and India, it explores the local segments of the tourism value chain, or the local linkages of tourism. In assessing the impact on poverty it looks at both the local share of...

Abstract The paper deals with the dynamics of change in IT service provision in the telecom global production network (GPN). It deals with two main questions: why did the Indian IT majors not get the Managed Services contract to provide IT services for the major Indian telecom companies? And,...

Abstract This paper examines the relationship of economic and social upgrading in the global value chain (GVC) of mobile phone manufacturing. It specifically questions (1) how the GVCs of mobile phone manufacturing have changed the dynamics of trade, production and value creation and capturing...

Abstract The paper discusses the experience of the mobile telecom sector in India in terms of its business organization. There is a high level of outsourcing of activities, including those such as network management, which would usually be included within the core competence of mobile telecom...

Abstract There are currently two contrasting approaches towards aid policy in Africa: that followed by the West is well known for its conditionality, selectivity and focus on direct financial support, while the approach adopted by China eschews conditionality and concentrates on infrastructure...

Abstract With Lao PDR’s macroeconomic performance currently booming, we investigate the country’s poverty situation by examining the drivers of household poverty. This paper tests four major hypotheses: (1) Whether higher returns on all crops harvested per capita reduce consumption...