Global production networks and the analysis of economic development

TLDR

Earlier studies have examined cross‑border firm activities, spatial configurations, and their developmental impacts, but have not fully captured the dynamics of global production networks. The article proposes a framework for analyzing economic integration and its link to economic and social development asymmetries, advocating a research agenda better suited to the realities of globalization. The framework is elaborated through a detailed exploration of its conceptual elements and illustrated with a stylized example of a global production network. The authors conclude that GPN‑informed research could yield significant benefits for understanding and guiding economic development.

Abstract

This article outlines a framework for the analysis of economic integration and its relation to the asymmetries of economic and social development. Consciously breaking with state-centric forms of social science, it argues for a research agenda that is more adequate to the exigencies and consequences of globalization than has traditionally been the case in 'development studies'. Drawing on earlier attempts to analyse the cross-border activities of firms, their spatial configurations and developmental consequences, the article moves beyond these by proposing the framework of the 'global production network' (GPN). It explores the conceptual elements involved in this framework in some detail and then turns to sketch a stylized example of a GPN. The article concludes with a brief indication of the benefits that could be delivered by research informed by GPN analysis.