Upgrading to Compete: Global Value Chains, Clusters, and SMEs in Latin America

by Carlo Pietrobelli (Editor), Roberta Rabellotti (Editor)

Can local markets and clusters represent a powerful alternative to global markets? Do transnational corporations and global buyers play a role and enhance or undermine local firms’ upgrading and learning? What opportunities do clustering and global value chains offer to SMEs in global markets?

Upgrading to Compete shows that both the local and the global dimensions matter at once. Clustering and collaborating with other local firms offers substantial advantages, and participating in global value chains and interacting with foreign buyers and companies may enhance local firms’ capabilities and access to distant markets as well. However, what matters most markedly is the form of governance of value chains and clusters, which affects the upgrading process of local SMEs. Thus, hierarchical and less cooperative chains often inhibit more complex and promising forms of upgrading.

The book illustrates this point with original empirical evidence from several clusters in Latin America. Case studies from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Nicaragua are supplemented by desk studies on other experiences in the region. The methodological foundations and the policy implications of these analyses are also exhaustively addressed.

330 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Carlo Pietrobelli is a Lead Specialist in the Competitiveness and Innovation Division of the Inter-American Development Bank. Prior to joining the IDB, he was Professor of Economics at the University of Roma Tre, Italy, and Director of the Center for Studies on the Economics of Institutions (CREI). He also served as Deputy Rector for university-Industry linkages at the same university. Pietrobelli holds a PhD in Economics from Oxford University, UK, and has worked as policy adviser for international organizations like the European Commission, the World Bank, IFAD, UNIDO, UNCTAD, ECLAC, CAF, and OECD in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. His research interests include innovation and technological change, industrial policy, international trade, and clusters and value chains in developing countries. His research has been published in many academic journals and books. At the IDB, Pietrobelli designs and manages programs to promote competitiveness and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean.