The Employment Effects of Global Value Chains

Due to advances of information, communication, and technology and reductions in trade barriers, countries are increasingly deeply engaged in global value chains (GVCs). In the article, we theoretically and empirically show that a country’s position in GVCs has significantly positive effects on its employment level and structure. Countries located in a higher position in GVCs induce a larger demand for high-skilled labors and a more perfect employment structure. Empirical results further reveal that the position in GVCs will help improve employment structure in both developed countries and developing countries, and the employment effects of GVCs are statistically larger for capital-intensive industries than for labor-intensive industries. Moreover, by distinguishing international and domestic division of labor, we find that the employment effects of domestic value chains are larger than foreign value chains.