Internalizing Global Value Chains: A Firm-Level Analysis

Laura Alfaro, Pol Antras, Davin Chor and Paola Conconi

No 21582, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In recent decades, advances in information and communication technology and falling trade barriers have led firms to retain within their boundaries and in their domestic economies only a subset of their production stages. A key decision facing firms worldwide is the extent of control to exert over the different segments of their production processes. We describe a property-rights model of firm boundary choices along the value chain that generalizes Antràs and Chor (2013). To assess the evidence, we construct firm-level measures of the upstreamness of integrated and non-integrated inputs by combining information on the production activities of firms operating in more than 100 countries with Input-Output tables. In line with the model's predictions, we find that whether a firm integrates upstream or downstream suppliers depends crucially on the elasticity of demand for its final product. Moreover, a firm's propensity to integrate a given stage of the value chain is shaped by the relative contractibility of the stages located upstream versus downstream from that stage, as well as by the firm's productivity. Our results suggest that contractual frictions play an important role in shaping the integration choices of firms around the world.

JEL-codes: D23 F14 F23 L20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-cse, nep-cta, nep-int and nep-tid
Note: IO ITI
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (46)

Published as Laura Alfaro & Pol Antràs & Davin Chor & Paola Conconi, 2019. "Internalizing Global Value Chains: A Firm-Level Analysis," Journal of Political Economy, vol 127(2), pages 508-559.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Internalizing Global Value Chains: A Firm-Level Analysis (2019)
Working Paper: Internalizing Global Value Chains: A Firm-Level Analysis (2018)
Working Paper: Internalizing global value chains: a firm-level analysis (2017)
Working Paper: Internalizing global value chains: a firm-level analysis (2017)
Working Paper: Internalizing Global Value Chains: A Firm-Level Analysis (2015)
Working Paper: Internalizing Global Value Chains: A Firm-Level Analysis (2015)
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