Regional value chains as new pathways to development?

ABSTRACT There is growing scepticism about global value chains because of their association with an unequal global trading system. Regionally coordinated and integrated production in Asia appears to have served as a better mechanism for promoting economic prosperity than direct integration into global markets. This is founded upon regional cooperation on investment, trade and value chains. This research note distinguishes different forms of these chains, discusses the conditions for their emergence and sheds light on some of their effects – for both individual firms and entire continents. Asia’s experience is compared with Africa’s and Latin America’s.