1 24 TH INTERNATIONAL INPUT-OUTPUT CONFERENCE 4-8 JULY 2016, SEOUL, KOREA INDUSTRY-LEVEL COMPETITIVENESS AND INEFFICIENCY SPILLOVERS IN GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS HUBERT ESCAITH 1 SÉBASTIEN MIROUDOT FIRST DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION ONLY Abstract: Global production, the servicification of manufacturing and global value chains (GVCs) have changed the way trade and international economics are understood today. The present essay revisits comparative advantage and builds on recent statistical advances to suggest new ways of looking at industry-level competitiveness and comparative advantage. The empirics focus on the 61 countries that are included in the OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added database (TiVA), covering OECD, EU28, G20, most East and South East Asian economies and a selection of South American countries. The paper looks at the implications of global manufacturing for our understanding of trade and growth from an international supply chain perspective, through a comparative advantage approach and the redefinition of domestic value chain upgrading as the deepening of efficient inter-industrial linkages. Keywords: Global value chains, trade and development, revealed comparative advantage, competitiveness benchmarking. JEL: C18, C67, F14, F19, F43, F63, O11, O19, O41, O47, O57 1 Disclaimer: This is a draft for discussion only and represents research in progress. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of its authors. They are not intended to represent the positions or opinions of the OECD or WTO, or their Members.