What are Global Value Chains and why they matter for economic and regional development

Contributor(s): Professor Riccardo Crescenzi | To understand Global Value Chains, consider the bicycle. Bicycles are not solely produced in one place, rather they are created across countries—a collection of regions delivering components and services bringing the bicycle to the end consumer. Each contributor, located and spread throughout the world, adds value to this end product. This end-to-end process is the Global Value Chain.