International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain外文原文.pdfVIP

Journal of International Economics 48 (1999) 37–70 International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain Gary Gereffi* Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0088, USA Abstract This article uses a global commodity chains perspective to analyze the social and organizational dimensions of international trade networks. In linking international trade and industrial upgrading, this article specifies: the mechanisms by which organizational learning occurs in trade networks; typical trajectories from assembly to OEM and OBM export roles; and the organizational conditions that facilitate industrial upgrading moves such as the shift from assembly to full-package networks. The empirical focus is the apparel industry, with an emphasis on Asia.  1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords : Global commodity chains; Industrial upgrading; OEM; OBM; Apparel; East Asia JEL classification : F14; F23 Globalization has altered the competitive dynamics of nations, firms, and industries. This is most clearly seen in changing patterns of international trade, where the explosive growth of imports in developed countries indicates that the center of gravity for the production and export of many manufactures has moved to an ever expanding array of newly industrializing economies (NIEs) in the Third World. This shift is central to the ‘East Asian miracle,’ which refers to the handful of high-performing Asian economies that have attained lofty per capita growth rates, relatively low income inequality, high educational attainment, record levels of domestic saving and investment, and booming exports from the 1960s to the mid-1990s (World Bank, 1993).