Global Value Chain Research: The Role of International Organisations

Abstract

Recent years the phenomenon of global value chains (GVCs) has attracted great attention of international organizations. Many of them are involved in the study of GVCs, primarily the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the UN Commission on Trade and Development, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the World Intellectual Property Organization and others, including regional international organizations, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Asia, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, African Development Bank, etc. The purpose of this article is to identify how the role and position of international organizations in the global market for GVC research has changed, both in terms of specific content and in terms of interaction with individual scientists and other international and national institutions. GVC research by international organizations makes an important contribution to the understanding the contradictory features of international fragmentation, the participation of countries, regions, industries and individual firms in it. The publications of international organizations have a common research paradigm: they all recognize the importance of GVCs for national economic development. A similar conceptual framework for the study of GVCs is combined with the research specialization of international organizations, which reflects the main focus of the activity of one or another organization. The availability of research specialization is accompanied by continuity and coordination of research; the conclusions of international organizations do not contradict, but rather complement each other. The most important feature of all publications of international organizations is also their practical orientation, the focus on elaborating recommendations for national policies aimed at maximizing the benefits of participation in GVCs and minimizing the risks of such integration. A key feature of the research of international organizations is their generalizing nature, which allows highlighting the key trends in the development of GVCs and perspective areas for future research. Conducting large-scale research and the development of expert estimates in the field of GVCs became possible due to the availability of significant financial, intellectual and statistical resources of international organizations, including databases (TiVA, EORA, AMNE). The availability of such resources allows not only to conduct generalizing and comparative studies on a large array of macro and micro data, but also to carry out “pioneering” studies, which are a real increment of scientific knowledge in the field of GVC. Obtaining important generalizing or “pioneering” conclusions became possible due to the development of multilateral research cooperation of international organizations with individual researchers, universities, other international institutes and “think tanks”.