On the Measurement of Upstreamness and Downstreamness in Global Value Chains

Pol Antras and Davin Chor

No 24185, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper offers four contributions to the empirical literature on global value chains (GVCs). First, we provide a succinct overview of several measures developed to capture the upstreamness or downstreamness of industries and countries in GVCs. Second, we employ data from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) to document the empirical evolution of these measures over the period 1995-2011; in doing so, we highlight salient patterns related to countries’ GVC positioning – as well as some puzzling correlations – that emerge from the data. Third, we develop a theoretical framework – which builds on Caliendo and Parro’s (2015) variant of the Eaton and Kortum (2002) model – that provides a structural interpretation of all the entries of the WIOD in a given year. Fourth, we resort to a calibrated version of the model to perform counterfactual exercises that: (i) sharpen our understanding of the independent effect of several factors in explaining the observed empirical patterns in the period 1995-2011; and (ii) provide guidance for how future changes in the world economy are likely to shape the positioning of countries in GVCs.

JEL-codes: D5 F1 F2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-int and nep-tid
Note: ITI
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (70)

Published as Antràs, Pol, and Davin Chor, 2018. "On the Measurement of Upstreamness and Downstreamness in Global Value Chains." in Lili Yan Ing and Miaojie Yu (eds.), World Trade Evolution: Growth, Productivity and Employment, London, UK: Routledge, Chapter 5.

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Working Paper: On the Measurement of Upstreamness and Downstreamness in Global Value Chains (2017)
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