The East Asian miracle: Economic growth and public policy: By the World Bank. (New York: Oxford University Press for the World Bank, 1993. 389 pp. $19.95, paper.)

This article outlines a framework for the analysis of economic integration and its relation to the asymmetries of economic and social development. Consciously breaking with state-centric forms of social science, it argues for a research agenda that is more adequate to the exigencies and consequences of globalization than has traditionally been the case in 'development studies'. Drawing on earlier attempts to analyse the cross-border activities of firms, their spatial configurations and developmental consequences, the article moves beyond these by proposing the framework of the 'global production network' (GPN). It explores the conceptual elements involved in this framework in some detail and then turns to sketch a stylized example of a GPN. The article concludes with a brief indication of the benefits that could be delivered by research informed by GPN analysis.

/pdf/global-production-networks-and-the-analysis-of-economic-23jorvvms7.pdf

Global production networks and the analysis of economic development

http://yoksis.bilkent.edu.tr/pdf/files/10.1016-S0261-5177(00)00009-1.pdf

Limits to community participation in the tourism development process in developing countries

A vast and continually expanding literature on economic globalization continues to generate a miasma of conflicting viewpoints and alternative discourses. This article argues that any understanding of the global economy must be sensitive to four considerations: (a) conceptual categories and labels carry with them the dis- cursive power to shape material processes; (b) multiple scales of analysis must be incorporated in recognition of the contemporary 'relativization of scale'; (c) no single institutional or organizational locus of analysis should be privileged; and (d) extrapolations from specific case studies and instances must be treated with caution, but this should not preclude the option of discussing the global economy, and power relations within it, as a structural whole. This paper advocates a network method- ology as a potential framework to incorporate these concerns. Such a methodology requires us to identify actors in networks, their ongoing relations and the structural outcomes of these relations. Networks thus become the foundational unit of analysis for our understanding of the global economy, rather than individuals, firms or nation states. In presenting this argument we critically examine two examples of network methodology that have been used to provide frameworks for analysing the global economy: global commodity chains and actor-network theory. We suggest that while they fall short of fulfilling the promise of a network methodology in some respects, they do provide indications of the utility of such a methodology as a basis for under- standing the global economy.

/pdf/chains-and-networks-territories-and-scales-towards-a-rqjv3l1h9b.pdf

Chains and networks, territories and scales: towards a relational framework for analysing the global economy

This book opens a fresh chapter in the debate on local enterprise clusters and their strategies for upgrading in the global economy. The authors employ a novel conceptual framework in their research on industrial clusters in Europe, Latin America and Asia and provide new perspectives and insights for researchers and policymakers alike.

Governance in global value chains

Tourism and DEVELOPMENTEvidence from Mexico

Global commodity chains (GCC) present a fairly new and innovative approach for understanding the prospects for development among Third World countries within a larger environment characterized by globalization. To date, most research using the framework concentrates on the changing organization of manufacturing activities and helps to explain why the chains touch down where they do. This article concentrates on two related questions: what can commodity chains tell us about the globalization of services and to what extent do services suggest the need to refine the GCC approach? Both questions are examined by focusing upon tourism, the largest service activity in the world. Concentrating on hotels and airlines, the article demonstrates that tourism services have become internationalized in a manner unlike manufacturing activities. Most notably, organizational or governance structures do not conform to either buyer-driven or producer-driven models frequently predicted by GCC analysis. The article concludes that while commodity chain analysis is useful for examining the political economy of tourism, especially in highlighting power and exchange relationships, it must be broadened to 'account' fully for the unique organization of the global tourism industry.

Commodity chains, services and development: theory and preliminary evidence from the tourism industry

Over the past three decades, tourism has become integral to the Mexi- can economy. Mexico easily leads Latin America in tourism exports, the provi- sion of tourist-related services to foreigners visiting the country. Today tourism also serves as the second-largest employer in Mexico and ranks consistently among the top three earners of foreign exchange. This study traces the origin of Mexico's tourism boom by examining state policies and private-sector activity during the last thirty years. It also presents data on distributional patterns asso- ciated with tourism in an effort to evaluate Mexico's tourism record within the larger context of development. For most countries, tourism exports-the provision of tourist-related services to foreign visitors-have become a significant part of the external sector and even the economy as a whole. This trend reflects in part tourism's status as one the fastest growing industries in the world over the past forty years. Today tourism constitutes the world's largest service in- dustry and the single largest item in international trade of services. Ac- cording to the World Tourism Organization, international tourism arrivals exceeded 625 million persons in 1998, while receipts grew to almost 445 bil- lion dollars (WTO 1999).1 Tourism has also become increasingly significant economically in what has been referred to as the third world. From a de- velopmental standpoint, however, tourism is controversial. Proponents claim that tourism provides valuable foreign exchange, creates jobs, and produces tax revenues. Critics argue that most of these benefits are over- stated due to the capturing of benefits by powerful groups including trans- national corporations (TNCs) and "leakages" (export revenues that leak out of the receiving country due to imports of tourism-related goods and ser- vices as well as profit repatriation). Although the debate continues, about

Mexican tourism : Export growth and structural change since 1970

During the past decade Cuba has become a haven for international sex tourists. How do we explain this phenomenon? This article contends that the Cuban experience must be understood as part of a set of larger global processes. It utilizes a commodity chains framework in order to uncover the links between the local sex tourism industry and these larger international processes. The framework highlights aspects of production and consumption of an illicit blobal commodity and shows how tourism aimed at consuming sexual services has become a truly global industry in recent years. It also, however, seeks to avoid global determinism by showing how particular aspects of the Cuban political economy and policymaking have shaped the local development and organization of the Cuban link in the chain.

The globalization of sex tourism and Cuba: A commodity chains approach

Cruise ship tourism has become one of the fastest growing segments of the global tourism industry and is a central facet of the industry in various regions. This is particularly the case in the Caribbean where at any given time as many as 70 cruise ships may be operating. This article utilizes a global commodity chains (GCC) approach to investigate the political economy of the cruise ship industry and consider the development consequences for the Caribbean. It shows that a small number of global cruise lines use a combination of producer-driven and buyer-driven strategies to maximize on-board revenues and capture a very high proportion of economic surplus. The implications for developing country destinations are disturbingly clear. A Chinese version of this article's abstract is available online at: www.informaworld.com/rglo

Michael Clancy

Papers

Tourism and DEVELOPMENTEvidence from Mexico

Commodity chains, services and development: theory and preliminary evidence from the tourism industry

Mexican tourism : Export growth and structural change since 1970

The globalization of sex tourism and Cuba: A commodity chains approach

Cruisin' To Exclusion: Commodity Chains, the Cruise Industry, and Development in the Caribbean