Global Product Chains: General Discussion

• Listen to an Interview with Richard Blackhurst, former Director, Economic Research, World Trade Organization (WTO) on Global Product Chains (8m18s)
• Listen to excerpts from a discussion with Konrad von Moltke, IVM, on the report/case study findings (4m24s)
• Écouter une entrevue avec Michel Potier, Chef de la Division Economique, Direction de l'environnement, OCDE, concernant "Global Product Chains" (6m36s)
• Listen to Jan Borring from the Department of the Environment of Norway discuss his thoughts on the Global Product Chains as an analytical tool (4m56s)
• Listen to Sarah Roberts, IIED, and Marie-Claire Segger-Cordonnier, IISD/ICTSD discuss the outcomes of the Global Product Chains Report (8m53s)

Download the Required RealPlayer

Onno Kuik
Institute for Environmental Studies

Nicolien van der Grijp
Institute for Environmental Studies
The existence of linkages between southern producers and northern consumers is almost self-evident. Countless manufactured products sold to northern consumers contain, or can contain, inputs from southern producers: raw materials, intermediate products or assemblies, but rarely finished goods. Nevertheless it has proven very difficult to identify these linkages in a manner that manifests their significance for sustainable development in both northern and southern countries. This study uses the concept of global product chains to analyze these relationships.

The report identifies objectives, strategies, markets, instruments, and the products themselves as vital to the characterization of product chains and for the possibilities to influence them to promote sustainable development. The economic concept of rent is critical in defining the relationships between actors in the product chain. The ability to capture rents identifies the relative power of actors. Any attempt to promote sustainable development through consumer choice or government action in northern countries is dependent on finding approaches to specific products that respect the structure and the relationships in global product chains.

Four case studies develop these themes with respect to four countries and product chains that have major significance for them: cotton for Pakistan, semiconductors for the Philippines, copper for Zambia and ecotourism for Costa Rica. They clearly identify the position of the countries on the product chains and the degree to which it is capable or not of capturing adequate rents from these chains to address the pressing issues of sustainability.

Read the overview