Private and public governance of decent work in regional and domestic value chains: the case of horticulture and garments in Sub-Saharan Africa

Matthew Alford, Stephanie Barrientos, Shane Godfrey, Khalid Nadvi, Maggie Opondo and Margareet Visser

Review of International Political Economy, 2025, vol. 32, issue 5, 1643-1668

Abstract: Seismic shifts in the geographies of global production point to the growing importance of Regional and Domestic Value Chains (RVCs and DVCs) in the global South. RVCs and DVCs, often governed by Southern lead firms, operate alongside or intersect with Global Value Chains (GVCs). GVC studies have long analysed private governance of decent work by Northern lead firms. Recent studies examine state-led public governance. Yet, our understanding of public and private governance of decent work in RVCs/DVCs remains limited. We conduct a cross-country and sectoral analysis of horticultural and garments RVCs/DVCs in Sub-Saharan Africa, asking: How is public and private governance of decent work evolving in intersecting GVCs, RVCs and DVCs? We observe relatively weak private governance of decent work in DVCs and RVCs, alongside a shift towards variegated forms of public governance. Whilst these trends are more pronounced in horticulture, nascent changes are occurring in garments. To capture the variety of public governance patterns, we present a governance-power continuum ranging from ‘directive’ to ‘facilitative’ public governance. However, the potential efficacy of such developments for decent work remains unclear. Future research could benefit from utilising our framework to explore how public governance evolves in the context of polycentric trade.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2025.2505181

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