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Paper short abstract:

Rising Powers are recognised as key drivers of the global economy. Centres of global production and increasingly consumption. What is not known is how Rising Power lead firms are shaping the geographies of global value chains, and with what consequences for governance and sustainability concerns.

Paper long abstract:

The significance of emerging economies, notably China, India and Brazil, is well recognised. China is the 'factory to the world', India a major global player in the fast expanding IT-related services, and Brazil a leading global supplier of various primary commodities. These Rising Powers have also witnessed rising domestic consumption and the emergence of an affluent middle class. These developments are being studied. What we know little about is how Rising Power firms organise and shape global value chains (GVC). The GVC framework has attracted substantial interest amongst development academics studying contemporary globalisation and the global division of labour. It is also centre stage in policy discussions on global trade dynamics in many leading international development policy agencies (including UNCTAD, UNIDO, the World Trade Organisation, FAO and the OECD). As UNCTAD (2013) notes the vast majority of global trade now occurs through GVC linkages. A core assumption in the GVC literature is that GVCs are orchestrated solely from the global north, with limited agency for southern firms. This paper challenges this view. It argues that the Rising Power lead firms are shaping the geographies of GVCs and with consequences for governance and sustainability concerns. It draws on extensive secondary and primary evidence gathered through an ESRC funded study undertaken in Brazil, China and India, to ask two key questions. First, how do firms from China, India and Brazil internationalise and organise GVC linkages? Second, in what ways do these RP-led GVCs differ from their northern counterparts, and with what consequences?