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Global Value Chains, Development and Competitiveness
Sharing policy practices

Organised by the OECD and the Korean Development Institute, this event took place on 19 March 2013 at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, France.

Agenda & Presentations of the speakers
Summary report
Discussion Paper | Concept Note
OECD Strategy on Development

Background

Global value chains refer to the organisation of international production, trade and investments whereby different stages in the production process are located across different economies. GVCs can offer a path to growth and development by integrating countries and firms in these different stages of the production process. The emergence of GVCs had significantly altered the global economy through greater connectivity and fragmentation, but also by increasing complexity and uncertainty associated with the far-reaching consequences of possible supply-chain disruptions.
Participation in GVCs can enhance competitiveness by allowing producers to focus on specific tasks rather than the entire production process. However, the distribution of value and benefits within chains varies significantly, and depends on an array of factors including resource endowments, infrastructure, endowments of skilled human capital, innovation, as well as other relevant domestic policies. These domestic policies can be important for capturing value and upgrading within these value chains, and can help avoid the potential lock-in effects of specialisation.

Objectives

This event is intended as the first meeting of a multi-annual policy dialogue activity on policies to enhance the benefits from GVCs for development, proposed in the OECD Strategy on Development, approved by the OECD’s Ministerial Council Meeting in May 2012. This event on global value chains offers a forum where countries can assess, design and implement better policies to enhance development and competitiveness through integration into GVCs. In particular, it fosters the exchange of experiences and peer-learning among countries integrated into GVCs on how best to design and implement policies to attract and retain investment and promote upgrading of skills and technology. Furthermore, it aims to build capacity in policy making via peer learning on the ‘how to’ of policy reform processes.
The event provides an opportunity to take stock of existing work on global value chains, notably a comprehensive policy report for the OECD's Ministerial Council meeting in May 2013, and is intended as a forum for policy dialogue between policy makers and practitioners from OECD and non-OECD countries, as well as representatives from academia and think-tanks. Participating countries originate from all regions of the world and represent all levels of integration in GVCs. The active engagement of private sector representatives and other external experts is also promoted.
This event was held back to back with the meeting of the OECD Committee on Industry, Innovation and Entrepreneurship that took place on 20 and 21 March.