Introduction

A comprehensive review of the literature on global value chains (GVCs) is an ambitious undertaking for at least three reasons. First, the literature is voluminous and the risk of omitting key references is high. Second, the proper study of GVCs requires a multidisciplinary approach, with literature originating from a wide variety of disciplines. This requires an understanding of different intellectual and conceptual approaches. Third, with such a high level of interest in GVCs, the field is a moving target, and new work in the next months and years will warrant an update.