CENTRE AND PERIPHERY IN GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS: AN INTERPRETATION BASED ON THE PIONEERS OF DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT

The article aims to theoretically reconcile the reality of global value chains in the 21^st century to the lessons of the pioneers of the Development Economics about the possibilities for economic development through international trade. Therefore, the theoretical discussion highlights some of the main ideas of those authors, and then the concept of center-periphery is reviewed in the context of the current labor division by the analysis of data from IMF, World Bank, TIVA/OCDE. The conclusion is that the division center/periphery remains, but reframed: there is still a significant difference in income between the rich countries and the others, which coincides with the discrepancies in the complexity of exports, in the employment structures and, last but not least, in the agricultural productivity.

KEYWORDS:
economic development; global value chains; state; foreign insertion