Frontiers of Commodity Chain Research

Extending the frontiers of commodity chain research, this distinctive volume includes original work from major figures in sociology, history, geography, and labor studies. It underscores the wide and interdisciplinary appeal of chain approaches for analyzing the economic, social, and political dimensions of international trade and production networks.

Commodity chain analysis sheds light on the political and ecological implications of economic globalization and on how activists in pursuit of social justice, workers' rights, and environmental protection can use it. Following a substantive review of literature in the field, the collection goes on to examine theoretical and methodological debates over how to conduct research on global commodity and value chains, how power is exercised through these chains, and how global economic activities are coordinated across space. The result is a rich and unusually coherent volume that demonstrates how commodity and value chain analysis is informing contemporary research in a variety of fields.

"This exciting collection moves the decade-old commodity chain research into new frontiers and insights. The masterful introduction is followed by multifaceted explorations of old and vital new areas of the global economy, from produce to electronics. The contributions are as theoretically exciting as the implications are doleful."—Charles Perrow, Yale University

"Jennifer Bair has brought together a very stimulating collection of theoretical and empirical essays on this highly important approach for understanding the immense changes occurring in the global economy. This should be a key book for researchers and policy-makers alike."—Peter Dicken, University of Manchester