1,720,976 research outputs found
The smile curve at the firm level: Where value is added along supply chains
No full textIn this paper, we investigate at the firm-level where value is added along supply chains on a sample of about 2 million firms in the European Union. In line with the hypothesis of a ‘smile curve’, we detect a non-linear U-shaped relationship between the value added content of a firm and its distance from final consumption. Tasks at the early and late stages of the supply chains generate higher value added, possibly due to a higher knowledge-intensity, after controlling for firm heterogeneity. Importantly, our work shows that it is possible to exploit firm-level databases for an empirical microfoundation of value generation, which is useful for understanding the possibly unequal benefits of participating in global value chains
Organizing the Global Value Chain: A firm-level test
Full text linkIn this paper, we study the organization of Global Value Chains on a sample of about 4,000 manufacturing parent companies integrating more than 90,000 affiliates in 150 countries. Assuming a technological sequence of production stages, a recent property rights framework (Antràs and Chor, 2013; Alfaro et al., 2015) predicts that vertical integration decisions are crucially based on both the position of a supplier along the chain and on the relative size of demand elasticities faced by the final-good producer and the supplier. In line with this, we find that if final demand is sufficiently elastic (inelastic), downstream parents, i.e. final-good producers, integrate production stages that are more proximate to (far from) final demand. However, this result is not valid in the case of midstream parents, i.e. producers of intermediate inputs that can integrate either backward or forward along the chain. We document that these companies are at least as common as are downstream parents, but the existing theory neglects them. In these cases, we find that demand elasticities do not play a significant role in integration choices. Interestingly, both midstream and downstream parents tend to integrate affiliates that are more proximate in segments of a supply chain, probably due to technological complementarities in adjacent industries
Firms amid conflict: Performance, production inputs, and market competition
No full textWe study the effect of conflict on firms' economic performance and the underlying mechanisms. We develop a simple theoretical framework in which conflict reduces a firm's output, induces input substitution, and increases firms' exit. In our empirical analysis, we combine an original dataset of Libyan firms and geolocalized data on conflict events during the Second Libyan Civil War to show that, in line with the predictions of the model, conflict reduces a firm's revenues and increases exit, relatively more for firms intensive in foreign inputs. We also document that, conditional on survival, the negative effect of conflict on revenues is nonlinear, with its marginal effect decreasing as conflict intensity increases. Two mechanisms drive this result: the heterogeneous conflict-induced reduction in the availability of production inputs and the weaker market competition due to the conflict-induced decrease in the number of a firm's competitors
Supply chain disruptions and sourcing strategies
No full textSupply chain disruptions have recently been at the center of both academic and policy debates. After reviewing some of the emerging literature on supply chain disruptions, we discuss the role of buyers' sourcing strategies in mediating responses to such shocks. We focus on two dimensions of a buyer's sourcing strategy: relationality (the extent to which the buyer concentrates its sourcing in a few core suppliers) and just-in-time. On the one hand, theoretical models of sourcing suggest that these are complementary practices and their adoption should be positively correlated in the data. On the other hand, the two dimensions have opposing implications for supply-chain resilience to shocks. We borrow an empirical proxy for a buyer's relationality from Cajal-Grossi et al. (2023) and introduce a new proxy for a buyer's adoption of just-in-time inventory systems. Using data from the apparel global value chain we compute the two proxies and present three results: (a) the variation in both relationality and just-in-time is mostly explained by across-buyer variation, rather than product or country variation, (b) consistent with the theoretical analysis in Taylor and Wiggins (1997), relationality and just-in-time are highly correlated with each other across buyers, (c) at the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic, buyers' overall sourced values declined relatively less for relational buyers but not for buyers with just-in-time inventory systems
Global Value Chains Participation and Productivity Gains for North African Firms
No full textThis paper analyzes the participation of North African countries and Örms into Global Value Chains
(GVCs) and its implications for competitiveness. First it shows that North African countries are
not (yet) fully integrated into international production networks, although large part of their (low)
trade is due to value added related upstream activities, and the importance of global linkages
has been increasing over time. Then, it empirically investigates if and how the performance of
North African Örms is a§ected by GVC participation. We Önd that Örms that have had access
to international supply chains perform better, showing further productivity gains over time. The
ability to get such improvements however relies on speciÖc characteristics, such as an adequate
level of quality and compliance with international standards, along with specialized skills. Policies
designed to support the latter represent then an important tool for linking developing countries to
global production and trade, with possible positive consequences on their economic development
Global value chains: New evidence for North Africa
No full textAbstract This paper analyzes the participation and the position of North African countries in global value chains (GVCs). Exploiting the recently released Eora multiregional Input-Output tables, we describe regional and country {GVC} involvement. North African countries have not so far been able to fully integrate into international production networks. However, a large part of their (low) trade is due to value added related activities, mainly in the upstream phases, and the importance of foreign linkages has been increasing over time. We complement the Input-Output analysis with sectoral evidence from selected case studies and policy experiences. Overall, our results suggest that enhancing the {GVC} participation of North African countries has potential to substantially benefit local industries, countries and indeed the whole area. However, the ability to retain such benefits relies on specific local conditions, such as a favorable environment for foreign investments, and lower trade barriers, thus leaving room for policy intervention
Causal Inference on Networks under Continuous Treatment Interference
Full text linkThis paper investigates the case of interference, when a unit's treatment
also affects other units' outcome. When interference is at work, policy
evaluation mostly relies on the use of randomized experiments under cluster
interference and binary treatment. Instead, we consider a non-experimental
setting under continuous treatment and network interference. In particular, we
define spillover effects by specifying the exposure to network treatment as a
weighted average of the treatment received by units connected through physical,
social or economic interactions. We provide a generalized propensity
score-based estimator to estimate both direct and spillover effects of a
continuous treatment. Our estimator also allows to consider asymmetric network
connections characterized by heterogeneous intensities. To showcase this
methodology, we investigate whether and how spillover effects shape the optimal
level of policy interventions in agricultural markets. Our results show that,
in this context, neglecting interference may underestimate the degree of policy
effectiveness
Neutrophils in innate and adaptive immunity
No full textNeutrophils have long been viewed as short-lived cells crucial for the elimination of extracellular pathogens, possessing a limited role in the orchestration of the immune response. This dogma has been challenged by recent lines of evidence demonstrating the expression of an increasing number of cytokines and effector molecules by neutrophils. Moreover, in analogy with their "big brother" macrophages, neutrophils integrate the environmental signals and can be polarized towards an antitumoural or protumoural phenotype. Neutrophils are a major source of humoral fluid phase pattern recognition molecules and thus contribute to the humoral arm of innate immunity. Neutrophils cross talk and shape the maturation and effector functions of other leukocytes in a direct or indirect manner, through cell-cell contact or cytokine production, respectively. Therefore, neutrophils are integrated in the activation and regulation of the innate and adaptive immune system and play an important role in the resolution or exacerbation of diverse pathologies, including infections, chronic inflammation, autoimmunity and cancer
Land consolidation, specialization and household diets: Evidence from Rwanda
Full text linkDespite rapid population growth, increasing land pressure and urbanization, farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa have not intensified their production in a sustainable manner and farming systems remain predominantly subsistence-oriented. In response, developing country governments increasingly implement programs that promote crop intensification and more commercially-oriented agricultural systems. Rwanda's Crop Intensification Program (CIP), launched in 2007, is one such example. However, despite its apparent success in raising production of several priority crops, there are legitimate concerns about the food and nutrition security implications for households that are encouraged to consolidate their land, specialize in their production, and increasingly rely on markets for their food needs. Using recent household survey data and a propensity score matching difference-in-differences method, we find that participation in land consolidation activities had ambiguous consumption effects: it positively impacted on consumption of roots and tubers, but had a negative effect on meat, fish and fruits consumption and the potential availability of vitamin B12 in participants’ diets. This calls for a review of CIP implementation practices to enhance the program's food and nutrition security outcomes, with improvements in market functioning and market access being potential starting points
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