Rethinking Value Chains - by Florence Palpacuer & Alistair Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

EPUB and EPDF available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Today, production processes have become fragmented with a range of activities divided among firms and workers across borders. These global value chains are being strongly promoted by international organisations, such as the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, but social and political backlash is mounting in a growing variety of forms.

This ambitious volume brings together academics and activists from Europe to address the social and environmental imbalances of global production. Thinking creatively about how to reform the current economic system, this book will be essential reading for those interested in building sustainable alternatives at local, regional and global levels.

Review Quotes

"A unique combination of academic and practitioner perspectives on challenging issues in global value chains. It covers key conceptual and campaign topics - of great interest to academic and policy audiences." Stephanie Barrientos, University of Manchester

"This book embodies new research insights from the activist tradition of global value chain scholarship. It will be essential to tackle the tough challenges of contemporary global capitalism." Gary Gereffi, Duke University

"Written by top scholars and activists, this outstanding collection fills important gaps in the GVC literature. It is theoretically deep yet highly accessible, with insightful case studies of strategies for greater equity in the global economy." Mark Sebastian Anner, Pennsylvania State University

About the Author

Florence Palpacuer is Professor in Management Studies at the University of Montpellier.

Alistair Smith is the International Coordinator of Banana Link.