Asia Economics Blog

This post draws from a paper to be presented in the ACAES session on Asian Economies in Global Supply Chains at the 2023 Allied Social Science Association Annual Meeting, program here.

International supply chains are dependent on ease of crossing borders and efficient connectivity in terms of price, speed, and reliability. The intensification of international supply chains during the last four decades has been easier in some parts of the world than others and so-called global value chains have been primarily regional value chains (RVCs), centered on East Asia, Europe, and North America (Johnson & Noguera, 2017). The RVCs were only linked at the final step of sending finished products to markets in high-income countries, typically by ocean shipping. The Eurasian rail Landbridge established the first major overland link between RVCs, and traffic grew rapidly from 2011 to 2021.

Co-author:  Reizle Platitas
 
This post draws from a paper presented in the ACAES session on "Asian Economies in Global Supply Chains" at the 2023 Allied Social Science Association Annual Meeting, program here.

Asia’s exports doubled from 16% of GDP in 1990 to 34% in 2008, driven by the global fragmentation of production processes. After 2008, however, exports-to-GDP moderated, reflecting what some have dubbed slowbalization. This reality, however, conceals much heterogeneity: the slowdown was largely driven by falling commodity prices and by China becoming more self-reliant. Given the persisting role of cross-border value chains for Asian economies, understanding their dynamics remains crucial to strengthening the resilience of these economies.