Global Commodity Chains & World Income Inequalities: The Missing Link of Inequality and the “Upgrading” Paradox

  • Benjamin D. Brewer James Madison University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2011.423

Abstract

This article links key findings from two major research literatures within contemporary development and globalization studies: global commodity/value chains, and world income inequalities. Forging this missing link exposes what I call the upgrading paradox within commodity and value chain analysis. The paradox hinges on the disconnect between the global commodity/value chain literatures focus on the potential for firms and nations to upgrade their position within chains and the roots of the global commodity chain construct in world-systems analysis, a theoretical framework that rejects the potential for widespread and generalizable developmental progress. Findings from the world income inequalities literature do indeed confirm the paradoxical nature of the upgrading discourse, so I conclude by discussing two potential paths for a post-paradox commodity chain analysis.
Published
2011-08-26
How to Cite
Brewer, B. D. (2011). Global Commodity Chains & World Income Inequalities: The Missing Link of Inequality and the “Upgrading” Paradox. Journal of World-Systems Research, 17(2), 308–327. https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2011.423
Issue
Volume 17, Issue 2, 2011
Section
General Section

Copyright (c) 2015 Benjamin D. Brewer

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