Deglobalisation? The reorganisation of global value chains in a changing world

New evidence is presented on the evolution of global value chains (GVCs) since the Great Financial Crisis. Drawing on novel OECD inter-country input-output tables in previous year’s prices, it shows there was no general trend towards deglobalisation in the period up to 2020. The fragmentation of production remained at a historically high level in 2019 and close to the level of 2011, confirming a stabilisation of the depth of global economic integration. Different trends are observed across economies: in the European Union, the import intensity of production grew before the COVID-19 pandemic, while China increasingly relied on domestic inputs. To explain these trends, bilateral trade costs are estimated and their cumulative impact along value chains is then calculated; structural changes and higher uncertainty seem to be the main drivers of increasing cumulative trade costs for some GVCs. To preserve the benefits of GVCs, policy makers should seek to increase the ease of trade and reduce uncertainty.