This paper explores the past, present, and future of Africa's regional integration trajectory. It examines both the “old” and “new theories” of regional integration and compares and different viewpoints in existing literature to illuminate different schools of thought on regional integration with an Africa-centric approach at the centre. The paper argues that Africa's unique set of background conditions necessiates the development of a more relevant theoretical and conceptual framework and attempts to do so. Finally and arguably most importantly, this paper offers policy recommendations and pathways to regional integration through regional value chains that can improve regional production networks and looks at how the establishment of the AfCFTA promotes this process.

Textile waste amounts and its utilization are pressing problems in the EU today, with further expected worsening as legislations come into play, increasing collection rates. The EU strives towards a more sustainable future, however this future might entail initial disimprovement, as consumption and disposal behaviour are further expected to increase. The study showed by mapping the future material flow that potential scenarios are severe, in waste volumes and it is unclear how they will be handled and utilized. It is of highest importance to prepare to mitigate them through levers that enable preferred circular flows towards a more sustainable future. Reusing clothing might be such a lever that promises to partially substitute the demand for new products. Through quantitative research and a systemic and dynamic analysis, this study concludes that waste management remains an even more acute problem, whilst slowing consumption through reuse and maintenance of existing products might be a (small) step in the right direction.

Global Value Chains (GVCs) emerged in the last decades and changed the landscape of the international organisation of production. Thanks to the reduction of transport costs and to the development of new technologies the production process increasingly fragmented into single phases carried out by different firms, also located in different countries. This led to the birth of a dense international network of production with multiple commercial and financial linkages between firms and countries. Such a complex architecture offers remarkable advantages, such as reduced procurement costs and high degrees of local/regional specialization, but also exposes to relevant risks and sources of instability, especially in the presence of unexpected shocks. For this reason, the international production network and GVCs emerged as an important topic in the international economic literature. In this globalization process, developed countries have so far had a central role: they have the highest shares of GVCs participation, extract the largest part of value added, and are positioned in the most profitable segments of the chains. However, GVCs may offer remarkable opportunities also for developing countries (Taglioni and Winkler 2016; World Bank 2019, 2020). This project focuses on the role that GVCs may have in the development process of North Africa. This area is trying to emerge from the group of middle income countries and enter a stable development path. However, the financial crisis of 2008 and the series of Arab Spring revolutions have undermined the progresses achieved over the past decades. In this scenario, the COVID-19 pandemic poses further serious concerns. Addressing economic development for the whole area is complex. Despite having suffered common shocks as well as sharing many demographic, cultural and social characteristics, the economic structure of these countries is different. Algeria and Libya are highly dependent on revenues from raw materials such as oil and natural gas; Morocco and Tunisia have developed over the years an advanced manufacturing fabric thanks also to the entry of foreign multinationals into domestic economy; finally, Egypt has an economic structure where traditional sectors, such as shipbuilding and agriculture, coexist along with advanced ones such as ICT. In light also of this diversity, my research is structured as a series of self-contained chapters focused on the analysis of specific issues concerning the role of GVCs on development. In particular, in the first chapter I address the impact of GVCs participation on firm productivity. The issue has been widely discussed in the literature: while first studies pointed out the existence of just a self-selection mechanism into international markets according to productivity, evidence came out about a learning by participating effect. The chapter enriches this literature by investigating Egyptian firms’ performances in the aftermath of the Arab Spring revolution. I find a positive and significant impact of GVCs participation on firm productivity, especially for domestic firms. In the second chapter, I investigate the relationship between firm GVCs participation and FDI activity using French administrative data. Relying on a very recent strand of literature, I hypothesise and prove that the direction of FDI follows and is caused by firm pattern of trade. Introducing governance indicators, I find changes in the general relationship according to countries' development. Moreover, a focus on NA reveals the peculiarity of this area. Finally, in the last chapter, I link the literature on GVCs with the Economic Complexity (EC) approach (Hidalgo et al., 2007; Hidalgo and Hausmann, 2009). The latter provides new tools and metrics to measure countries economic performances and offers interesting insights to study economic development. I link these strands of literature by applying the Product Space and other EC metrics to the study of GVCs. I also provide a new index to measure countries GVCs participation coherent with the EC approach. These contributions are then applied to the case study of NA countries. All in all, the research proves the importance of internationalisation for economic development. Integrating into GVCs, firms may increase their performances, and therefore countries improve their position and widen their linkages into the international production network.

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This dissertation comprises three essays of a multilevel investigation into the strategies of high-technology firms to build and maintain competitive advantage through effective policies for innovation, global sourcing, and knowledge management. Through a combination of conceptual and empirical analyses that extend the existing theoretical boundaries in each of these areas, I contribute to our current body of knowledge and establish a solid foundation on which future related research will be built. In particular, I weave together classic and contemporary literature of strategic management, entrepreneurship, international business, and organizational economics to reveal how macro- and micro-level factors impact the activities selected, tradeoffs made, and performance of firms in regional and global settings. / Business Administration/Strategic Management

The growth of a country depends on the improvement of its human resources. The TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) system intends primarily to advance personal support and resources. Throughout education, people can build their knowledge, understanding, and skills to find a job. The TVET in Agriculture (ATVET) curriculum plays an essential role in designing interventions to deliver quality education, helping people increase productivity in the various agriculture sectors of economic activities, value chains, and associated occupations. The purpose of this research is to investigate what is necessisary to improve the agriculture technical and vocational education programs in Senegal by focusing on pedagogy and teaching strategies. Participants represented different ranges of teaching experience from five to more than ten years. The lead researcher interviewed two school directors and ten ATVET teachers. The interviews were semi-structured and were last from 30 minutes to one hour in Diourbel and Thies, Senegal. The researchers developed an interview protocol regarding the ATVET programs, implementation issues, and job market trends. The results showed that participants had various years of professional experience in the ATVET system and academic levels. All participants are well experienced and knowledgeable about working in strenuous physical and instructional conditions. The lack of infrastructure, equipment, and class facilities appears in the findings as significant problems. The deterioration of the resources such as human, material, financial and organizational influences the expected teaching outcomes because of insufficient and inadequate teaching and learning methods. Thereby, all authorities must consider the requirements and expectations of the the competency-based (CBA) program within the sustainability of the infrastructure, the learning environment, and the efficiency of maintenance to improve the technical context to guarantee practical and efficient administration of technological, environmental, and human resources. / Doctor of Philosophy / The growth of a country depends on the improvement of its human resources. The Vocational Training system (TVET) aims to strengthen human resources. Through education, people can build their expertise, comprehension, and abilities to find a job. The TVET in Agriculture performs a fundamental function in designing interventions to deliver concerning training, making people boost productivity in agriculture sectors of economic activities, value chains, and associated occupations. The purpose of this research is to investigate what is needed to improve agriculture vocational and technical education programs in Senegal by focusing on pedagogy and teaching strategies to address the new and growing competency demands of the different value-chains within the agriculture system. Participants in this study were the teachers and administrators in the current ATVET programs. The lead researcher interviewed two school directors and ten ATVET teachers in Diourbel and Thies, Senegal. The researchers developed an interview protocol regarding the ATVET programs, implementation issues, and job market trends. The results showed that participants are well experienced and knowledgeable about working in strenuous physical and instructional conditions. The availability and quality of material resources such as teaching materials and class sizes pose problems in teacher satisfaction in the classroom to boost learning outcomes. Thus, the didactic equipment also remains insufficient and poorly diversified, which testifies the limited pedagogical approaches used in these structures. The deterioration of the ATVET resources such as human, material, financial and organizational influences the expected teaching outcomes because of insufficient and inadequate teaching and learning methods. Thereby, all authorities must consider the requirements and expectations of sustainability of the infrastructure, the learning environment, and the efficiency of maintenance to improve the technical context.

Yes / Rising demand for cheaper textiles and clothing in Western Europe is well documented, as are changes in the Textiles and Clothing industry's globalised production structure. We apply a sub-systems global multi-regional input–output accounting framework to examine the sustainability implications of meeting Western European demand for textiles and clothing goods between 1995 and 2009. Our framework estimates environmental and socio-economic impacts of consumption in a consistent manner and shows where these occur both geographically and in the value chain. The results demonstrate that Western European textiles and clothing consumption remains dependent on low-cost labour from Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), principally in the Textiles and Clothing and Agricultural sectors. Conversely, we show that the wage rate for BRIC workers in the global value chains serving Western European textiles and clothing consumption has risen over time but remains low relative to the wage rate paid to Western European workers. Likewise, we find that profits are increasingly generated within BRIC and that they are now at comparable levels to those generated in Western Europe. We find a slight overall decrease in the amount of carbon emitted in the production of textiles and clothing goods for Western Europe between 1995 and 2009. However, the trend is not linear and the importance of different underlying drivers varies over the timeseries. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results for a more sustainable future for Western European textiles and clothing consumption.

Глобализация охватывает все новые сферы и меняет суть привычных явлений. Характерной чертой современного этапа развития мирового хозяйства является формирование и распространение трансграничных цепочек стоимости (глобальных и региональных). Одной из мало изученных сфер остается вопрос об интеграции национальной экономики в трансграничных цепочках стоимости в условиях глобализации. На сегодняшний день странам со слабой экономикой как Республика Таджикистан важнейшим источником роста конкурентоспособности отраслей является стимулирование участия в глобальных цепочках стоимости на этапе их формирования. Для этого необходима выработка специфических рекомендаций. Объектом исследования является национальная экономика Республики Таджикистан. Предмет исследования – степень включенности и направление развития национальной экономики в глобальной среде трансграничных цепочек добавленной стоимости. Цель данной работы – формирование теоретико-методических основ и разработка рекомендаций по выстраиванию национальной экономики Республики Таджикистан в трансграничные цепочки стоимости. Во введении обоснована актуальность, цель и задачи исследования. В первой главе рассмотрены сущность и понятие среды трансграничных цепочек стоимости. Изучена концепция национальной экономики в условиях глобализации. Во второй главе проведена комплексная оценка место страны в мировой хозяйственной среде на основании международных индексов, была предложена авторская методика. На основании авторской методики было выявлено участие страны в фрагментации цепочки создания стоимости. В третьей главе проведён мониторинг мнения экспертов, SWOT – анализ о присоединение Республики Таджикистан в ЕАЭС, как способ более глубокого интегрирования в воспроизводственных процессах. А также было изучено несколько Государственных Программ Республики Таджикистан. В Заключении авторами было предложено несколько рекомендаций по поводу дальнейшего развития национальной экономики Республики Таджикистан в трансграничные цепочки стоимости. / Globalization covers all new areas and changes the essence of familiar phenomena. A characteristic feature of the current stage of development of the world economy is the formation and distribution of cross-border value chains (global and regional). One of the little studied areas remains the issue of integrating the national economy in cross-border value chains in the context of globalization. To date, countries with a weak economy as the Republic of Tajikistan, the most important source of growth in the competitiveness of industries is the promotion of participation in global value chains at the stage of their formation. It requires the development of specific recommendations. The object of the research is the national economy of the Republic of Tajikistan. The subject of research is the degree of inclusion and direction of development of the national economy in the global environment of cross-border value chains. The purpose of the work is the formation of theoretical and methodological foundations and the development of recommendations for implementing the national economy of the Republic of Tajikistan into cross-border value chains. The introduction substantiates the relevance, purpose and objectives of the research. The first chapter discusses the nature and concept of the environment of cross-border value chains. The concept of the national economy in the context of globalization is studied. In the second chapter, a comprehensive assessment of the country's place in the world economic environment on the basis of international indices is carried out; there proposed the methodology based on the author’s methodology, the country's participation in the fragmentation of the value chain is revealed. The third chapter monitors the opinions of experts, SWOT analyzes on the accession of the Republic of Tajikistan to the EAEU as a way of deeper integration in reproduction processes. And also several State Programs of the Republic of Tajikistan are studied. In conclusion, the authors propose several recommendations regarding the further development of the national economy of the Republic of Tajikistan in cross-border value chains.

This thesis has two basic aims. The first aim is to analyze the global value chain of fruits and vegetables and the current international market with apples. The second aim is to analyze the value chain of apples in Czechia and measure its connection to global value chains. The research was carried out by analyzing secondary sources and basing on an own qualitative survey. This thesis is divided into two major parts. The first part deals with the global value chain (GVC) of fruits and vegetables. This chain is examined through five dimensions which are typical for GVC analysis: input-output structure, geographic scope, governance, institutional context and upgrading. The second part focuses only on one specific crop, apples. Firstly, it is studied at the global level, then the thesis concentrates only on the value chain of apples in Czechia.

Os Produtos Florestais Não Madeireiros (PFNM) são entendidos como uma fonte importante de renda agregada às atividades de subsistência das populações moradoras de áreas protegidas. Porém, a governança de seus territórios e cadeias é complexa, contemplando diferentes pressões, ilegalidades, interesses e organizações. Com base nesse contexto, as teorias relacionadas à governança florestal e de cadeias de valor de PFNM apontam para a necessidade de criação de ambientes multistakeholders para promover parcerias e melhorias na governança de territórios e cadeias. A teoria de Redes de Cooperação trazem elementos de organização e estruturação de processos cooperativos para a promoção de setores econômicos em diferentes realidades, podendo contribuir também para o entendimento e melhoria de redes voltadas para a promoção de cadeias de valor de PFNM. O estudo de caso realizado na Rede Terra do Meio (RTM) possibilitou o entendimento das contribuições das redes de cooperação para a melhoria da governança das cadeias de valor de PFNM. Percebe-se que a organização em rede na Terra do Meio permitiu a estruturação de processos de melhoria e monitoramento de cadeias de valor de PFNM com base em subredes organizadas pelo tripé \"grupos extrativistas - grupos interinstitucionais - organizações de mercado\" em paralelo a ações direcionadas ao acesso a políticas públicas, proteção do território, educação e saúde. Essas subredes de operação de melhorias são ligadas a ambientes mais amplos de promoção da cooperação interinstitucional, como a RTM, que potencializam o diálogo, planejamento, monitoramento e coordenação de processos cooperativos no território. A cooperação interinstitucional em rede observada na Terra do Meio contribuiu para o ganho de confiança nas relações entre as comunidades, instituições, organizações de mercado e financiadores, potencializando laços, ações conjuntas e obtenção de recursos. A presente tese apresenta a descrição do funcionamento da Rede Terra do Meio, suas subredes e cadeias de valor, analisando o funcionamento da rede como um todo em paralelo às teorias de redes de cooperação encontradas na literatura, buscando entendimento sobre os processos de governança e as influências sobre as cadeias de valor de PFNM. De forma complementar os aprendizados da pesquisa são sistematizados como diretrizes de governança, que visam facilitar o entendimento e melhoria do processo de cooperação na Terra do Meio e em territórios com características semelhantes. / Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are seen as an important source of income combined with livelihood activities of protected areas population. However, the governance of their territories and chains is complex, beholding different pressures, illegalities, interests and organizations. Based on this context, theories related to forest governance and NTFP value chains point to the need to create environments to promote multi-stakeholder partnerships and improvements in governance of territories and chains. The Cooperation Networks theory brings organization and structuring elements of cooperative processes for the promotion of economic sectors in different realities, contributing also to the understanding and improvement of networks focused on the promotion of NTFP value chains. The case study in Rede Terra do Meio (RTM) enabled the understanding of the cooperation networks contributions to the NTFPs value chains governance. It is noticed that the network organization in Terra do Meio allowed the structuring of process improvement and monitoring of NTFP value chains based on subnetworks organized by the tripod \"extractivist groups - interinstitutional groups - market organizations\" in parallel with targeted actions to access public policies, territorial protection, education and health. These subnetworks directed to improvements operation are linked to broader environments of interinstitutional cooperation promotion, such as RTM, which enhance dialogue, planning, monitoring and coordination of cooperative processes in the territory. interinstitutional cooperation observed in Terra do Meio network contributed to gain trust among communities, institutions, market and financing organizations, enhancing ties, joint actions and resourcing. This thesis presents a description of Terra do Meio network, its subnetworks and value chains, analyzing the functioning of the network as a whole in parallel to cooperation networks theories found in literature, seeking the understandin of governance processes and the influences on NTFP value chains. Complementarily, the research learnings are systematized as governance guidelines, which are intended to facilitate the understanding and improvement of cooperation processes at Terra do Meio and at territories with similar characteristics.