How and why firms in low-income countries seek to build capabilities in new export industries?
by Ayelech T. Melese and Lindsay Whitfield Industrialization is the main driver of higher per capita incomes and a rising standard of living in low-income countries. Industrialization may be catalyzed by foreign direct investment. However, it is sustained by national firms becoming internationally competitive in range of industries, which should increase in technological complexity as…
Can African countries build competitive fiber-to-garment industries fit for the 21st century?
by Lindsay Whitfield The textile and apparel industry is a globalised industry characterised by a high degree of dependency and fragmentation in global supply chains. From the mid-20th century, cotton textile and apparel manufacturing production relocated from industrialised to developing countries, particularly in Asia, and was quickly followed by the emergence of the petrochemical industry and…
Industrializing through global value chains? The case of the South African automotive industry
When trying to come up with lessons for developing countries that want to industrialize today, people usually refer back to the success of East Asia. But 40 years have passed since South Korea and Taiwan industrialized through exporting and import substitution.
Supply Chain Responsibilities in a Global Pandemic
What is the responsibility of Western retailers to the workers who make their garments as the corona virus forces factories to shut down?
We must move beyond ‘green capitalism’
Big corporations are branding themselves as sustainable. But the capitalist logic of expansion and consumption that make them thrive is the real climate issue, CBS professor claims in a new book. Stefano Ponte, Professor of International Political Economy and Director, Centre for Business and Development Studies, Copenhagen Business School, spo.msc@cbs.dk Green growth, corporate social responsibility…
Taking the Environment Seriously in Agricultural Global Value Chains: Why It Matters to the Bottom
With the advancement of globalisation, 80% of trade flows through global value chains (GVCs). Agriculture and agro-processing GVCs are one of the largest employers for less developed countries, especially in Africa and Asia.