Econometrica

Journal Of The Econometric Society

An International Society for the Advancement of Economic
Theory in its Relation to Statistics and Mathematics

Edited by: Guido W. Imbens • Print ISSN: 0012-9682 • Online ISSN: 1468-0262

Econometrica: Jul, 2020, Volume 88, Issue 4

On the Geography of Global Value Chains

https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA15362
p. 1553-1598

Pol Antràs, Alonso de Gortari

This paper develops a multi‐stage general‐equilibrium model of global value chains (GVCs) and studies the specialization of countries within GVCs in a world with barriers to international trade. With costly trade, the optimal location of production of a given stage in a GVC is not only a function of the marginal cost at which that stage can be produced in a given country, but is also shaped by the proximity of that location to the precedent and the subsequent desired locations of production. We show that, other things equal, it is optimal to locate relatively downstream stages of production in relatively central locations. We also develop and estimate a tractable, quantifiable version of our model that illustrates how changes in trade costs affect the extent to which various countries participate in domestic, regional, or global value chains, and traces the real income consequences of these changes.


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Supplemental Material

Supplement to "On the Geography of Global Value Chains"

This zip file contains the replication files for the manuscript.  It also contains an additional appendix.

Supplement to "On the Geography of Global Value Chains"

This online appendix contains additional material for the manuscript.