Global Value Chains for Regional Development in Latin America

The Cañada-Blanch Centre at LSE brings a new public event. Three world-leading scholars will debate on the importance of Global Value Chains for Regional Development in Latin America

Global value chains, upgrading and regional development in Latin America

Foreign direct investment (FDI) and global value chains (GVCs) present opportunities and challenges for economic development in Latin America. The reconfiguration of global connectivity might bring new vitality to local innovation clusters and productivity hubs. However, too often cluster policies have neglected the international dimension or have offered public resources to major foreign corporations in exchange for limited local benefits (as in the case of Special Economic Zones). New evidence-based policies are needed to leverage FDI, trade and GVCs to the advantage of regional economic dynamism. A recent book on “Harnessing GVCs for Regional Development” will offer the initial material for the panel to discuss how a new approach on regional development and innovation based on local value creation, upgrading and GVC linkages may offer new viable policy tools for local economic development in Latin America.

Meet our speakers

Prof. Riccardo Crescenzi is a Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics. He has been a European Research Council (ERC) grant holder, leading a major five-year research project on foreign direct investment (FDI), global value chains (GVCs) and their territorial impacts across the globe. He is currently the LSE Principal Investigator of a large collaborative research project funded by Horizon Europe and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on inequalities in the era of global megatrends. 

Riccardo has a long track-record of teaching and research in regional economic development, innovation, FDI and GVCs, and in the analysis and evaluation of public policies. This research is published in top peer-reviewed journals in economic geography, international economics and international business and management and widely cited in academic and policy circles. His most recent book “Harnessing Global Value Chains for Regional Development” (2023, Routledge) explores how regions, cities and clusters can build, embed and reshape global value chains for local enhancement 

Prof. Carlo Pietrobelli, UNESCO Chair in ST&I Policies for Sustainable Development in Latin America at United Nations University UNU-MERIT, Maastricht & Professor of Economics at the University Roma Tre, Italy. He was Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, Washington D.C.. During 2009-2016 was a Lead Economist at the Inter-American Development Bank, where he led the preparation of development loans in Latin America and the Caribbean on innovation and industrial policies, and on cluster and value chains programs, small and medium-sized enterprises and local economic development.

His research interests range from development economics to innovation, trade and industry in developing countries. He has published widely in international journals and his last books were published by Harvard University Press, Edward Elgar, Palgrave and Routledge. His latest books are on The Impact Evaluation of Cluster Development Programs: Methods and Practices (IDB, 2016, https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/7605), and on Firm Innovation and Productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Engine of Economic Development (Palgrave, 2016).

Dr. Daria Taglioni, Research Manager, Trade and International Integration, Development Research Group, The World Bank. She joined the World Bank Group in 2011 as Senior Trade Economist in the International Trade Department of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network (PREM).  Since then, she has held various positions and roles, including Team-Task Lead for the World Development Report 2020, Principal Economist in the International Finance Corporation, and World Bank’s Global Lead on Global Value Chains. Previously, she worked as Senior Economist at the European Central Bank (ECB) and as Economist at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). She has published in the American Economic Review, Journal of International Economics, and other scholarly journals. Her work has been featured in international media outlet such as the New York Times and Forbes. She authored various books on international trade. She is Italian and holds a PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute, Geneva.

Meet our chair

Andrés Rodríguez-Pose is the Princesa de Asturias Chair and a Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics. He is the Director of the Cañada Blanch Centre LSE. He is a former Head of the Department of Geography and Environment between 2006 and 2009. He is a past-President of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) (2015-2017) and served as Vice-President of the RSAI in 2014. He was also Vice-President (2012-2013) and Secretary (2001-2005) of the European Regional Science Association.

More about this event

 The Cañada-Blanch Centre at LSE is the vehicle to achieve the objective of the Fundación Cañada Blanch: developing and reinforcing the links between the United Kingdom and Spain. This is done by means of fostering cutting-edge knowledge generation and joint research projects between researchers in the United Kingdom, and at the LSE in particular, on the one hand, and Spain, on the other.

You can follow us in Twitter.