research reports

Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Residential Re-Insulation
August 2009
Durham, NC

 With 46 million underinsulated homes in the United States, an expanding re-insulation market could save energy and create U.S. jobs for contractors, insulation installers, distributors, manufacturers, and material suppliers. This report is part of the Manufacturing Climate Solutions series.
Residential Re-Insulation

Hybrid Drivetrains for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks
June 2009
Durham, NC

 The United States is well positioned to take the lead in hybrid commercial trucks, a new, fast- growing market that promises future U.S. jobs in truck manufacturing, advanced energy storage, electronics, and software. This report is part of the Manufacturing Climate Solutions series.
Hybrid Drivetrains for Medium- and Heavy Duty Trucks

Carbon Capture and Storage: A Post-Combustion Capture Technology
May 2009
Durham, NC

 Chapter 8 of the Manufacturing Climate Solutions report focuses on carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies. These technologies will allow the U.S. to continue using fossil fuel for power generation while also achieving national goals to reduce CO2 emissions. These billion dollar projects also present huge U.S.-based employment opportunities in fields ranging from R&D to manufacturing and construction.
Carbon Capture and Storage

America's Loss is the World's Gain: America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Part IV
March 2, 2009

 Since even before the 2008 financial and economic crisis, some observers have noted that a substantial number of highly skilled immigrants have started returning to their home countries, including persons from low-income countries like India and China who have historically tended to stay permanently in the United States. This paper surveys 1,203 Indian and Chinese immigrants who had worked or received their education in the United States and returned to their home country, and finds that though restrictive immigration policies caused some returnees to depart the United States, the most significant factors in the decision to return home were career opportunities, family ties, and quality of life.
Paper

A Reverse Brain Drain
2009

 In recent years, immigrants have been playing a rapidly expanding role as high-tech entrepreneurs and inventors, providing an essential service to the country. This paper looks at the national immigration debate, and asserts that U.S. policymakers should be focusing on attracting and keeping more highly skilled foreign-born scientists and engineers. This paper was published in Issues in Science and Technology.
Paper

Development Models and Industrial Upgrading in China and Mexico
February 2009

 This article, published by the European Sociological Review, provides a broad comparison of the development models in Latin America and China, with an emphasis on how each has changed in recent decades. The article uses international trade data to examine industrial upgrading patterns in Mexico and China, with an emphasis on their competitive niches in the US market and why China is taking the lead in a number of different industries. The article also looks closely at a new feature of China’s industrial upgrading pattern known as supply chain cities.
Paper

A Global Value Chain Approach to Food Safety and Quality Standards
February 4, 2009
Durham

 This paper builds an analytic model to explain the relationship between value chain structures, food safety standards and food safety levels. The paper shows how both developed and developing countries are affected by and respond to the transformation of the global agri-food industry as well as the system of changing food safety standards. This paper was prepared for the Global Health Diplomacy for Chronic Disease Protection Working Paper Series.
Paper

Trade, Transnational Corporations and Food Consumption: A Global Value Chain Approach
February 23, 2009
Durham

 This paper applies the GVC framework to examine the linkages between trade, foreign direct investment and food consumption in several illustrative country cases (China, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago), and highlights the role of TNCs as drivers of food consumption through two company cases (McDonald’s and PepsiCo). The paper was prepared for a WHO edited volume on Trade and Healthy Diets.
Paper

Value Chain Governance
February 2009

 This paper explains the importance of identifying governance structures when conducting value chain analysis. The paper identifies the different types of inter-firm governance as well as the determinants and dynamics of inter-firm governance structures.
Paper

Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Recycling Industrial Waste Energy
February 2009
Durham, NC

 Many industrial processes discard exhaust heat, combustible gases, and other “waste” energy. These highly recoverable resources can be harnessed to generate electricity, thus saving energy costs, reducing CO2 emissions, creating new jobs, and protecting existing jobs by increasing productivity and competitiveness.
Recycling Industrial Waste Energy

Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Heat Pump Water Heaters
February 2009
Durham, NC

 Current residential heat pump water heater products are add-on units used in conjunction with conventional storage tanks and they are produced by a handful of very small U.S. companies. The recent introduction of ENERGY STAR water heater criteria appears to be incentivizing some larger appliance manufacturers to develop new heat pump water heater products that will be more widely available. If consumer interest in heat pump water heaters increases, the market would need to scale up significantly to meet greater demands, opening greater opportunities for U.S. component manufacturing in the value chain.
Heat Pump Water Heaters

A Value Chain Analysis of the U.S. Beef & Dairy Industries
February 16, 2009
Durham, NC

 Livestock farms are a major source of greenhouse gases. Certain practices in feeding and manure management can reduce these and other environmental impacts, but how do you encourage 967,440 U.S. farms, ranches and feedlots to adopt these best practices? We find that the strongest leverage for effecting such change lies in the downstream players in the value chain.
U.S. Beef & Dairy Industry Report

The North American Automotive Value Chain: Canada's Role and Prospects
2009

 This paper deals with the North American automotive value chain and analyzes the prospects for Canadian automotive sector upgrading. Canada continues to have marginally lower operating costs than the USA and a strong industrial culture that attracts investment. But Mexico’s integration into the North American production system, the rise of new centers of automotive production in the southern USA, and rapidly growing flow of automotive parts from China to North America have begun to erode this advantage. The paper includes a set of policy recommendations for Canada to maintain its comparative advantage in the industry. This paper is published in the International Journal of Technological Learning, Trade and Development.
Paper

Globalisation of the Automotive Industry: Main Features and Trends
2009

 This paper lays out the main features of the global automotive industry and identifies several important trends. The authors use global value chain analysis to help explain the limits of build-to-order in the industry, the role of regional and global suppliers, and the shifting geography of production and how the characteristics of value chain linkages in the industry favor tight integration and regional production. They describe how industry concentration focuses power in the hands of a few large lead firms and discuss the implications of this for value chain governance and the geography of production. The paper is published in the International Journal of Technological Learning, Trade and Development.
Paper

The Challenge of Global Value Chains: Why Integrative Trade Requires New Thinking and New Data
November 20, 2008

 A paper prepared for Industry Canada to develop recommendations for collecting data on the position of Canadian firms in global value chains (GVCs).
Paper

Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Super Soil Systems
November 2008
Durham, NC

 Super Soil is not yet commercially available, but it is an example of a technology that could potentially be widely adopted. The adoption of this or similar technologies would involve manufacturing jobs producing large tanks. Additional manufacturing jobs would be needed to make the equipment, along with the associated requirements for steel, glass, concrete, and other materials, and construction jobs to build the facility. This new technology for treating hog wastes could allow the United States to become a global market leader in a sector where, until now, no adequate alternative has been available.
Super Soil Systems

Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Concentrating Solar Power
November 2008
Durham, NC

 Concentrating solar power (CSP) represents a clean, powerful, endless, and reliable source of energy with the capacity to entirely satisfy the present and future electricity needs in the U.S. The new market for concentrating solar power plants has potential to create numerous U.S. manufacturing and construction jobs as U.S. companies grow and foreign firms come to the United States.
Concentrating Solar Power

Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Auxiliary Power Units for Trucks
November 2008
Durham, NC

 Integration of auxiliary power units into long-haul truck manufacturing in the near future will likely increase penetration rates dramatically, with a corresponding boost to manufacturing. Expanded production of APUs would create economic opportunity at all stages of the value chain by increasing purchases from material and component suppliers. Additional value chain opportunities will likely come when APU technology is integrated as a component in tractor manufacturing rather than being an aftermarket product.
Auxiliary Power Units for Trucks

Manufacturing Climate Solutions: High-Performance Windows
November 2008
Durham, NC

 High performance window technology is well developed, and widespread use of these more efficient windows is leading to demand for even better performance. The U.S. industry faces new, more stringent efficiency criteria that may spur manufacturers to retool production lines and further innovate. Over the course of criteria changes, jobs may have to develop more efficient products. The ability of companies to respond to criteria changes may determine which companies will benefit and which will struggle to compete.
High-Performance Windows

Manufacturing Climate Solutions: LED Lighting
November 2008
Durham, NC

 Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are a semiconductor technology whose application to general-purpose lighting is rapidly growing, with significant potential for energy savings. The market for general-purpose LED lighting is currently very small, but it is growing rapidly as the technology improves and costs go down. Leading U.S. manufacturers find it crucial to ensure high quality and to protect their innovations--two good reasons to keep the manufacturing close to home.
LED Lighting

A Value Chain Analysis of the U.S. Pork Industry
October 3, 2008
Durham, NC

 Over-use of antibiotics in hog production poses the risk of creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, seriously threatening human health. Reducing antibiotic use, however, poses challenges to hog farmers. By analyzing the value chain, we can better understand the industry’s dynamics, preparing the way for further work to find ways of protecting public health that also make good business sense.
U.S. Pork Industry Report

China's (Not So Hidden) Developmental State: Becoming a Leading Nanotechnology Innovator in the 21st Century
October 15, 2008

 This paper looks at how the debate over innovation is reflected in China's approach to national development, especially with respect to the use of nanotechnology.
Paper

The Governance Structure of U.S.-Based Food and Agriculture Value Chains and their Relevance to Healthy Diets
June 17, 2008
Durham, NC

 This paper outlines the global value chains (GVCs) of the chicken and tomato industries, showing how these industries have changed over time, who is driving that change, and how different segments of the value chain affect healthy diets and impact low-income populations. The authors specifically address how the lead firms in the global value chains of the chicken and tomato industries are a part of the processed food revolution and how this potentially impacts low-income communities.
Paper

Food Production Systems, Trade, and Transnational Corporations: A Global Value Chains Approach to Consumption and Healthy Diets
April 19, 2008
Durham, NC

 This paper explores the connections between the spread of obesity, especially in developing countries, and the interrelated expansion of trade, foreign direct investment, and transnational corporations (TNCs). The authors outline how the main concepts and methods of global value chains analysis can be applied to identify the direct and indirect linkages between the global economic processes of trade, foreign and direct investment, and food consumption.
Paper

How the Disciple Became the Guru
July 23, 2008
Durham, NC

 This paper is based on detailed interviews with the CEOs, HR executives, R&D managers, and employees of 24 leading companies in rapidly growing sectors in India. The authors present an overview of best practices in recruiting, training, managerial development, and employee retention. They conclude that out of necessity leading businesses in India have developed highly advanced, innovative practices allowing them to become globally competitive and grow rapidly.
Paper

A Value Chain Analysis of Selected California Crops
July 4, 2008
Durham, NC

 California is the most diversified agricultural economy in the world, generating more agricultural value than many countries. In the value chains for two selected crops—grain corn and processed tomatoes—we identify the players positioned to encourage environmental best practices.
EDF California Crops Report

The Globalization of Innovation: Can India and China Cure the Global Pharmaceutical Market?
June 11, 2008

 Multinational pharmaceutical corporations are searching for means to broaden their capacity for drug development while decreasing costs. Pharmaceutical firms in India and China are increasingly forging partnerships with these corporations to gain revenue and to develop their own expertise. As a result of the movement of research to their countries, Indian and Chinese scientists are rapidly developing the ability to innovate and create their own intellectual property.
Paper

Skilled Immigration and Economic Growth
2008

 This paper explores the educational attainment and career trajectories of immigrant entrepreneurs in the U.S. The research confirms that advanced education in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is correlated with high rates of entrepreneurship and innovation among both immigrant and U.S.-born founder populations. This paper is published in Applied Research in Economic Development.
Paper

Value Chains, Networks and Clusters: Reframing the Global Automotive Industry
2008

 In this article, published in the Journal of Economic Geography, the global value chain (GVC) approach is used to analyze recent trends in the global automotive industry, with special attention paid to the case of North America. Three elements of the GVC framework are used – firm level chain governance, power and institutions – to highlight some of the defining characteristics of this important industry.
Paper

Value Chain Analysis by CGGC Researchers Discovers Firms that can Save Energy in U.S. Buildings.
March 18, 2008
Durham, NC
CGGC Offices

 Podcast of value chain analysis on energy-saving firms in building construction industry.
Download Movie

An Analysis of the U.S. Real Estate Value Chain
April 22, 2008
Durham, NC
CGGC

 The Environmental Defense Fund is known for partnering with lead firms to find green solutions that make good business sense. Recognizing that buildings account for 40% of U.S. energy consumption, EDF asked CGGC to analyze the U.S. real estate industry and find key firms that are well-positioned to find innovative business practices to reduce building energy use. Among the report's key findings:
* In the finance segment of the value chain, there is greater leverage on the equity side than on the debt side. In other words, when it comes to working with building owners and developers, investors have greater influence than lenders
* The greatest energy-saving potential in the value chain lies in a) companies that own and operate real estate, and b) firms that either invest in them or manage property for them.
EDF Real Estate Report
EDF Report: Appendices

North Carolina in the Global Economy: A New Look at Global Competition, Local Jobs and the Role of Research Universities
February 6, 2008
Durham, NC
Center for International Studies, John Hope Franklin Center, Duke University

 Lecture by Gary Gereffi on global competition, local jobs and the role of research universities in North Carolina.
PPT Presentation

The Domestic Technological Content of China's Exports
January 22, 2008
Durham, NC
Duke University, Social Science Research Institute

 A lecture by Professor Yang Yao, Director of the China Center for Economic Research, Peking University.
Paper

Getting the Numbers Right: International Engineering Education in the United States, China, and India
January 2008

 This article challenges the commonly cited statistics for engineering graduates in the United States, China, and India. The authors argue that the key issue in engineering education should be the quality of graduates, not just the quantity, since quantity factors have the biggest impact on innovation and entrepreneurship. This article is published in the Journal of Engineering Education.
Paper

A Global Value Chains Approach to Food, Healthy Diets, and Childhood Obesity
November 5, 2007
Durham, NC

 A challenge associated with the nutrition transition in developing countries (i.e.,simultaneous presence of over-nutrition and under-nutrition, both being most prevalent in the poorest population segments) is the integration of their markets into the global economy. This integration determined rapid and strong changes in the production and trade of agricultural goods in the developing countries as well as growing foreign direct investments in food processing and retailing, and the expansion of food advertisements with obvious implications for dietary patterns and the risk of obesity.
Paper

Wal-Mart in China: Can the World's Largest Retailer Succeed in the World's Most Populous Market?
2007

 An article in the Harvard Asia Pacific Review on Wal-Mart's place in the China market.
Article

Intellectual Property, the Immigration Backlog and a Reverse Brain-Drain
August 2007

 This Kauffman Foundation-supported study is Part III of the "America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs" series, which focuses on immigrants' contributions to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy.
Paper

North Carolina in the Global Economy: A Value Chain Perspective on the State's Leading Industries
August 2007

 This article in the Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management highlights the features of the North Carolina in the Global Economy (NCGE) website.
More

Where the Engineers Are
Spring 2007

 To guide education policy and maintain its innovation leadership, the United States must acquire an accurate understanding of the quantity and quality of engineering graduates in India and China. (National Academy of Science Journal, Issues in Science & Technology)
Paper

Prospects for Canada in the NAFTA Automotive Industry: A Global Value Chain Analysis
March 14, 2007

 This paper examines trends in the North American automotive industry, and asks if Canada's historical comparative advantage in the industry is sustainable.
Paper

America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Part I
January 4, 2007

 This paper assesses the contribution of skilled immigrants in the creation of engineering and technology businesses and intellectual property in the United States. The research shows that immigrants have become a significant driving force in the creation of new businesses and intellectual property in the U.S. and that their contributions have increased over the past decade.
Paper

ILO Social Policy Lectures Book on "The New Offshoring of Jobs and Global Development" by Dr. Gary Gereffi has been Released.
October, 2006

 Published by the International Institute for Labour Studies.
Book

U.S. Engineering Education Reports
April, 2006

 Duke University undergraduates compare engineering education reforms at top U.S. engineering school.
Website

Commodity Dependency and Global Value Chains
October 2005

 CGGC research fellow Oscar Farfan applied Gereffi's global value chain research tools to the issue of commodity dependency, in a report prepared for the Investment Climate Unit of the World Bank.
Paper

Value Chain for the US Cotton Industry
March 4, 2005

 In this project, commissioned by Oxfam, CGGC researchers analyze the key actors, market forces, and vulnerabilities within major segments of the US cotton value chain.
Paper

Oil and Gas in Kazakhstan
September 22, 2003

 In this project, Dr. Gereffi worked with World Bank researchers and Yerbol Orynbayev (Duke '02), researching competitiveness and value chains in Kazakhstan's growing oil and gas sector.
Paper
Website

CAFTA-DR and the Textile/Apparel Industry

CGGC research fellow H. Michael Rosenberg analyzed the debate over CAFTA-DR and the broad impact of its passage on the textile and apparel industries, in a report prepared for a Global Value Chains initiative at the World Bank.
Paper