Since the half of the 90’s – with growing involvement, intensity, and geographical extent – the manufacture of a good has been fragmented into phases so that it takes the form of a sequence of tasks assigned to firms located in very different places. Global value chains (henceforth GVCs) reflect this distinctive pattern of the international division of production. The phenomenon involves both firms in developing countries, where participation in GVCs is an opportunity to industrialize highly labour-intensive tasks, and firms in the developed countries, which frequently operate in what are considered to be the most remunerative segments of GVCs, i.e. upstream and downstream to the production of a good.
The organization of production in GVCs is a phenomenon of great importance. At the macro level, it has a significant impact on the productive specialization of individual countries, which now in large part compete on individual phases (for example, R & D, Design, Assembly, Logistics) rather than on final goods. At the micro level, it offers opportunities of various kinds to firms, depending on their positioning and the capacity to move along the GVC and settle on more remunerative tasks (the so-called upgrading process).
The Italian economy has been characterized by growing integration into GVCs. In fact, according to the index of GVCs participation, Italy ranks equal with Germany and France. At micro level, Italian firms seem to be involved in GVCs mainly as intermediate firms: that is, they sell to other firms rather than operating in the market for finished goods.
The research carried out by the Rossi-Doria Centre covers both macro aspects – the trade in value added- and firms level analyses.
Economists of the Rossi-Doria Centre are involved in national and international research projects and in various networks connected with the GVCs line of research: Horizon 2020; Italian Trade Study Group; European Trade Study Group; International Agricultural Trade Research Network, Duke Global Value Chain Centre.
The Rossi-Doria Centre organizes on a regular basis international Workshops focused on GVC.
Jean Monnet Project: Understanding European Economic Policy: Towards a Deeper Union
Approach Application of Global Value Chains to High-Tech Suppliers of CERN, 2017.
Giunta A. Lo shock da offerta. GVC, COVID 19 e le imprese italiane, Etica ed Economia, n. 121, 2020
Florio M., Giffoni F., Giunta A., Sirtori E., Big Science, Learning and Innovation: Evidence from Cern Procurement. Industrial and Corporate Change, 2018, vol. 27, 5, 915-936, https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dty029.
Florio M., Giffoni F., Giunta A., Sirtori E., Big Science, Learning and Innovation: Evidence From CERN Procurement, Working Paper 225 (Collana del Dipartimento di Economia, Università degli studi Roma Tre) (online), 2017
