New measures have opened up insights into the extent and complexity of global production networks. The chapters in this timely book deploy new tools to understand how global value chains change the nature of global economic interdependence, and to assess how that in turn changes our understanding of policies in this new environment.The authors bring to bear a wide variety of methodological tools and data, and perspectives ranging from the firm-level micro economy to the global macro economy. The book has two broad themes. The first is national economies' heightened exposure to adverse shocks (natural disasters, political disputes, recessions) elsewhere in the world as a result of greater integration and interdependence. The second theme is focused on the evolution of global value chains at the firm level and how this will affect competitiveness in Asia. It also traces the past and future development of production sharing in Asia.

Employing an array of the latest methods and data to study global value chains, the book will prove a valuable resource for international organizations and regional bodies who have an active interest in anything related to global supply chain analysis. Researchers, academics and students in the fields of international trade and economics will also find its assessment of the evolution of global value chains at the firm level, and how this affects competitiveness in Asia, to be an insightful guide.

Contributors: R.Baldwin, M. Chinn, H.Escaith, B.Ferrarini, R.Forslid, T.W. Hertel, D.Hummels, A.Levchenko, A.C. Ma, L.Puzzello, D.L. Swenson, P.A. Raschky, A.Van Assche, T.L. Walmsley, J.Zhang