IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/gdk/wpaper/71.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Systematic literature review: theory on GVCs' impact on wages, employment, and productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Sabina Szymczak

    (Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland)

Abstract

This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) to provide a collection of theories explaining the impact of global value chains (GVCs) on labour market outcomes. Due to the complex nature of GVCs and the interconnectedness of wages, employment, and productivity, many direct and indirect effects are at play. To ensure a transparent and systematic flow of the review process, I follow the PRISMA guide. Eventually, 36 records out of 1221 results from Scopus database were selected for full-text analysis. This SLR may be useful for theorists, empirical economists, and policy makers as an up-to-date overview of theoretical developments and convenient map of potential outcomes expected from involvement in GVCs. It identifies and systematizes a number of effects existing in the literature under various names. Additionally, it shows the shortcomings of the existing theories. They often adopt the perspective of developed country trading with developing one, while nowadays the intermediate trade occurs in many forms, affecting various actors. Less aggregated levels of analysis could be a great input to the discussion, as well as addressing different GVCs' dimensions and types of organisation. The understanding of relation between GVC position and labour market is especially worth exploration as the existing evidence adopt different and even contradicting perspectives on the definition of upgrading the GVC position.

Suggested Citation

  • Sabina Szymczak, 2023. "Systematic literature review: theory on GVCs' impact on wages, employment, and productivity," GUT FME Working Paper Series A 71, Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdansk University of Technology.
    • Handle: RePEc:gdk:wpaper:71
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cdn.files.pg.edu.pl/zie/Strona%20polska/Nauka/Publikacje/Working%20Papers/WP_GUTFME_A_71_Szymczak.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2023
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Hummels & Jakob R. Munch & Chong Xiang, 2018. "Offshoring and Labor Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 981-1028, September.
    2. Matilde Cardoso & Pedro Cunha Neves & Oscar Afonso & Elena Sochirca, 2021. "The effects of offshoring on wages: a meta-analysis," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 157(1), pages 149-179, February.
    3. William MILBERG & Deborah WINKLER, 2011. "Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: Problems of theory and measurement," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 150(3-4), pages 341-365, December.
    4. Michael Kremer, 1993. "The O-Ring Theory of Economic Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 551-575.
    5. Robert C. Feenstra & Gene M. Grossman & Douglas A. Irwin (ed.), 1996. "The Political Economy of Trade Policy: Papers in Honor of Jagdish Bhagwati," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262061864, December.
    6. Enno Schröder, 2020. "Offshoring, employment, and aggregate demand," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 179-204, January.
    7. Feenstra, Robert C & Hanson, Gordon H, 1996. "Globalization, Outsourcing, and Wage Inequality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 240-245, May.
    8. Emmanuel Dhyne & Ayumu Ken Kikkawa & Magne Mogstad & Felix Tintelnot, 2021. "Trade and Domestic Production Networks," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(2), pages 643-668.
    9. Giancarlo Corsetti & Paolo Pesenti, 2001. "Welfare and Macroeconomic Interdependence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(2), pages 421-445.
    10. Hartmut Egger & Udo Kreickemeier, 2017. "Firm Heterogeneity and the Labor Market Effects of Trade Liberalization," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: International Trade and Labor Markets Welfare, Inequality and Unemployment, chapter 10, pages 265-306, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. Deardorff, Alan V., 2005. "A trade theorist's take on skilled-labor outsourcing," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 259-271.
    12. Golgeci, Ismail & Makhmadshoev, Dilshod & Demirbag, Mehmet, 2021. "Global value chains and the environmental sustainability of emerging market firms: A systematic review of literature and research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(5).
    13. Hylke Vandenbussche & William Connell & Wouter Simons, 2022. "Global value chains, trade shocks and jobs: An application to Brexit," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(8), pages 2338-2369, August.
    14. Gene M. Grossman & Esteban Rossi‐Hansberg, 2012. "Task Trade Between Similar Countries," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 80(2), pages 593-629, March.
    15. Ari Van Assche & Byron Gangnes, . "Global value chains and the fragmentation of trade policy coalitions," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    16. Gene M. Grossman & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2008. "Trading Tasks: A Simple Theory of Offshoring," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1978-1997, December.
    17. Arndt, Sven W., 1997. "Globalization and the open economy," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 71-79.
    18. MILE 02, Anirudh Shingal, 2015. "Labour market effects of integration into GVCs: Review of literature," Papers 1109, World Trade Institute.
    19. Philippe Mongeon & Adèle Paul-Hus, 2016. "The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: a comparative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(1), pages 213-228, January.
    20. Ronald W. Jones, 2000. "Globalization and the Theory of Input Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026210086x, December.
    21. Andrew Jia-Yi Kam, 2013. "International production networks and host country productivity: evidence from Malaysia," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 27(1), pages 127-146, May.
    22. Francois, Joseph F, 1990. "Producer Services, Scale, and the Division of Labor," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(4), pages 715-729, October.
    23. Wang, Wenxiao & Thangavelu, Shandre & Lin, Faqin, 2021. "Global value chains, firms, and wage inequality: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    24. Alonso de Gortari, 2019. "Disentangling Global Value Chains," NBER Working Papers 25868, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Yuan Zi, 2020. "Trade costs, global value chains and economic development," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 249-291.
    26. Arnaud Costinot & Jonathan Vogel & Su Wang, 2013. "An Elementary Theory of Global Supply Chains," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 80(1), pages 109-144.
    27. Robert Feenstra & Gordon Hanson, 2001. "Global Production Sharing and Rising Inequality: A Survey of Trade and Wages," NBER Working Papers 8372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Dev Nathan, 2021. "From Monopoly to Monopsony Capitalism," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(4), pages 843-866, December.
    29. Mukherjee, Soumyatanu, 2017. "Input trade reform and wage inequality," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 145-156.
    30. Lian Cai & Yabin Zhang & Zhenguo Wang & Zijian Liu, 2023. "Does the rise of global value chain position increase or reduce domestic income inequality?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(49), pages 5833-5845, October.
    31. Igor Drapkin & Anna Fedyunina & Yuri Simachev, . "GVC spillovers on total factor productivity of local firms: evidence from the Russian Federation," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    32. João Amador & Sónia Cabral, 2016. "Global Value Chains: A Survey Of Drivers And Measures," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 278-301, April.
    33. Pol Antràs & Alonso de Gortari, 2020. "On the Geography of Global Value Chains," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(4), pages 1553-1598, July.
    34. Elhanan Helpman, 1985. "Multinational Corporations and Trade Structure," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(3), pages 443-457.
    35. Jens Gammelgaard & Frank McDonald & Heinz Tüselmann & Christoph Dörrenbächer & Andreas Stephan, 2009. "Subsidiary Role and Skilled Labour Effects in Small Developed Countries," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 27-42, February.
    36. Helpman, Elhanan, 1984. "A Simple Theory of International Trade with Multinational Corporations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(3), pages 451-471, June.
    37. Handel, Michael J., 2016. "The O-NET content model: strengths and limitations," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 49(2), pages 157-176.
    38. Barbara Dluhosch & Thorsten Hens, 2016. "A rigorous approach to business services offshoring and North--North trade," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(15), pages 1390-1401, March.
    39. Robert C. Feenstra, 2010. "Offshoring in the Global Economy: Microeconomic Structure and Macroeconomic Implications," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262013835, December.
    40. Sébastien Miroudot & Rainer Lanz & Alexandros Ragoussis, 2009. "Trade in Intermediate Goods and Services," OECD Trade Policy Papers 93, OECD Publishing.
    41. B. Nyagadza & R. Pashapa & A. Chare & G. Mazuruse & P. K. Hove, 2022. "Digital technologies, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) & Global Value Chains (GVCs) nexus with emerging economies’ future industrial innovation dynamics," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 2014654-201, December.
    42. Handel, Michael J., 2016. "The O-NET content model: strengths and limitations," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 49(2), pages 157-176.
    43. Loe Franssen, 2019. "Global Value Chains And Relative Labour Demand: A Geometric Synthesis Of Neoclassical Trade Models," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 1232-1256, September.
    44. Chen, Bo & Yu, Miaojie & Yu, Zhihao, 2017. "Measured skill premia and input trade liberalization: Evidence from Chinese firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 31-42.
    45. Ben G. Li & Yibei Liu, 2018. "The Production Life Cycle," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 120(4), pages 1139-1170, October.
    46. Sugata Marjit & Hamid Beladi & Avik Chakrabarti, 2004. "Trade and Wage Inequality in Developing Countries," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(2), pages 295-303, April.
    47. Valentina De Marchi & Matthew Alford, 2022. "State policies and upgrading in global value chains: A systematic literature review," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 88-111, March.
    48. Valentina De Marchi & Elisa Giuliani & Roberta Rabellotti, 2018. "Do Global Value Chains Offer Developing Countries Learning and Innovation Opportunities?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 389-407, July.
    49. Steven Brakman & Charles van Marrewijk, 2022. "Tasks, occupations and slowbalisation: on the limits of fragmentation [Global value chains]," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 15(2), pages 407-436.
    50. James R. Markusen, 1997. "Trade versus Investment Liberalization," NBER Working Papers 6231, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    51. Stefan KÜHN & Christian VIEGELAHN, 2019. "Foreign trade barriers and jobs in global supply chains," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 158(1), pages 137-167, March.
    52. Dazhong Cheng & Zhiguo Xiao, 2021. "Producer Services and Productivity: A Global Value Chain Perspective," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(2), pages 418-444, June.
    53. Iffat Batool Naqvi & Zahid Ali Memon, 2018. "Upgrading of developing countries industrial clusters' firms: conceptual-theoretical framework," International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(4), pages 420-440.
    54. Jones, Ronald W., 2005. "Immigration vs. outsourcing: Effects on labor markets," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 105-114.
    55. Lee, Eunhee, 2020. "Trade, inequality, and the endogenous sorting ofheterogeneous workers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    56. Murat A. Yülek & Gilberto Santos, 2022. "Why Income Gaps Persist: Productivity Gaps, (No-)Catch-up and Industrial Policies in Developing Countries," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1), pages 158-183, January.
    57. Matthew J Page & Joanne E McKenzie & Patrick M Bossuyt & Isabelle Boutron & Tammy C Hoffmann & Cynthia D Mulrow & Larissa Shamseer & Jennifer M Tetzlaff & Elie A Akl & Sue E Brennan & Roger Chou & Jul, 2021. "The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(3), pages 1-15, March.
    58. Sudeshna Mitra & Kausik Gupta, 2020. "Fragmentation, Skill Formation And International Capital Mobility," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 65(02), pages 335-350, March.
    59. Alwyn Young, 2014. "Structural Transformation, the Mismeasurement of Productivity Growth, and the Cost Disease of Services," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(11), pages 3635-3667, November.
    60. Venables, Anthony J., 1999. "Fragmentation and multinational production," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4-6), pages 935-945, April.
    61. Yoshimichi Murakami & Keijiro Otsuka, 2020. "Governance, Information Spillovers, and Productivity of Local Firms: Toward an Integrated Approach to Foreign Direct Investment and Global Value Chains," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 58(2), pages 134-174, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marcel P Timmer & Sébastien Miroudot & Gaaitzen J de Vries, 2019. "Functional specialisation in trade," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 1-30.
    2. Baldwin, Richard & Robert-Nicoud, Frédéric, 2014. "Trade-in-goods and trade-in-tasks: An integrating framework," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 51-62.
    3. Aleksandra Parteka & Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz, 2020. "Wage response to global production links: evidence for workers from 28 European countries (2005–2014)," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(4), pages 769-801, November.
    4. Witada Anukoonwattaka, 2007. "Outsourcing and International Production of a Multinational: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Evidence from Toyota, Thailand," DEGIT Conference Papers c012_045, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    5. repec:gdk:wpaper:24 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. David Hummels & Jakob R. Munch & Chong Xiang, 2018. "Offshoring and Labor Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 981-1028, September.
    7. Shuguang Liu & Xiaowen Tang & Yubin Zhao, 2024. "Global Value Chain Participation, Employment Structure, and Urban–Rural Income Gap in the Context of Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-19, February.
    8. Baldwin, Richard & Venables, Anthony J., 2013. "Spiders and snakes: Offshoring and agglomeration in the global economy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 245-254.
    9. Hartmut Egger & Udo Kreickemeier, 2017. "International Fragmentation: Boon or Bane for Domestic Employment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: International Trade and Labor Markets Welfare, Inequality and Unemployment, chapter 9, pages 237-263, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. João Amador & Sónia Cabral, 2014. "Global Value Chains: Surveying Drivers, Measures and Impacts," Working Papers w201403, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    11. Philipp Ehrl, 2018. "Task trade and employment patterns: The offshoring and onshoring of Brazilian firms," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 235-266, April.
    12. Pol Antràs & Davin Chor, 2021. "Global Value Chains," NBER Working Papers 28549, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Steven Brakman & Charles van Marrewijk, 2022. "Tasks, occupations and slowbalisation: on the limits of fragmentation [Global value chains]," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 15(2), pages 407-436.
    14. Amador, João & Cabral, Sónia, 2009. "Vertical specialization across the world: A relative measure," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 267-280, December.
    15. Wilhelm Kohler, 2007. "The Bazaar Effect, Unbundling of Comparative Advantage, and Migration," CESifo Working Paper Series 1932, CESifo.
    16. Aleksandra Parteka & Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz, 2015. "Integrated sectors - diversified earnings: the (missing) impact of offshoring on wages and wage convergence in the EU27," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 13(3), pages 325-350, September.
    17. Wenxiao Wang & Christopher Findlay & Shandre Thangavelu, 2021. "Trade, technology, and the labour market: impacts on wage inequality within countries," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 35(1), pages 19-35, May.
    18. Abigail Cooke & Thomas Kemeny & David L. Rigby, 2016. "Task Trade and the Wage Effects of Import Competition," Working Papers 16-03, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    19. Egger, Hartmut & Egger, Peter, 2005. "Labor market effects of outsourcing under industrial interdependence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 349-363.
    20. Ravi Batra & Hamid Beladi, 2010. "A Simple Two‐Sector Model of Outsourcing," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 64-73, February.
    21. Priya Brata Dutta & Nirjhar Ghosh, 2021. "Wage Inequality and Unemployment in the Presence of Imported Intermediate Goods: A Theoretical Analysis," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 56(4), pages 375-399, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    systematic literature review; global value chains; wage; employment; productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F60 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gdk:wpaper:71. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wojciech Drapinski (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wzepgpl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.