Global value chains (GVCs) tie firms into cross-border production networks that reshape trade politics. Traditional political-economy models often ignore these production linkages and thus cannot explain the widespread, cross-industry trade coalitions observed in practice. A GVC-centered framework argues that shared foreign partners create interdependent preferences that encourage collective action for trade liberalization.
🔎 What Was Measured and How
- Compiled firm-to-firm supply chain networks to capture direct production linkages.
- Constructed direct measures of GVC linkages between firms and between lead firms.
- Estimated a variety of network models to test whether these linkages predict coordinated political behavior.
đź“Š Key Findings From the Network Evidence
- Firms connected through GVCs are more likely to coordinate lobbying activity: they lobby together, support the same bills, and hire the same lobbyists.
- GVC linkages among lead firms increase the likelihood of collective lobbying via trade associations, amplifying organized, industry-crossing pressure for liberalization.
- GVC connections predict both the formation and the depth of preferential trade networks, linking micro-level supply ties to macro-level trade governance outcomes.
đź’ˇ Why This Changes How Coalitions Are Understood
- Provides microfoundations showing that production linkages—not just industry identity—drive coalition formation around trade policy.
- Challenges the common assumption that industries and firms act as isolated political actors, highlighting the role of supply-chain structure in shaping political preferences and collective action.
🔍 Broader Implications
- Reorients study of trade politics toward networked firm relations and suggests new targets for researching lobbying behavior, association activity, and the politics of preferential trade agreements.
