Gary Gereffi, Duke University

In the past few years, there has been so much discussion about "globalization" that it is easy to imagine that economic integration is happening largely at a global rather than a regional scale. This is not the case. Economic integration has been moving faster and farther within regions than between them. This is clearest, of course, in Europe , with the establishment of the European Union on a continental scale. But it is also true in the Americas . Spurred by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the extension of many of its benefits to the Caribbean, and to a lesser extent by the Mercosur agreement in the Southern Cone, intra-regional trade and investment in both North and South America have grown much more rapidly than trade between North and South America . Even in Asia, there are informal patterns of regional integration that knit together the economies of Northeast and Southeast Asia in economic divisions of labor that strengthen the region as a whole.

This course will analyze many of the social, political, and economic issues raised by regional integration in Europe, the Americas , and Asia , with an emphasis on the interplay between public and private forms of governance in each regional setting. Particular attention will be given to Italy 's diverse and dynamic industrial districts, which have been lauded for their ability to remain innovative and cohesive despite the pressures of intensified global competition.

Course requirements
There is a great deal of material relevant to the subject matter of this course. A number of potential readings are listed at the end of this syllabus, and I will designate the required readings on a weekly basis according to the themes listed in the course outline. I will also encourage students to find additional materials for their papers through searching the Internet and accessing websites that I will make available to you. If possible, I will try to arrange field trips for members of the class to one or more of the many dynamic industrial districts located in the Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy .

Exams
There will be a mid-term and a final exam in the course. Each will count for 25% of the course grade.

Papers
There will be two papers required for the course and they will count for 40% of the course grade.

Class participation
Students will be expected to do the required readings, and to attend class on a regular basis. Class participation is 10% of the course grade.

Course outline - Spring 2005

Week 1 - February 22 & 24
Globalization and regionalization

Week 2 - March 1 & 3
The global economy: analytical building blocks

Week 3 - March 8 & 10
Industrial upgrading: how countries and regions move up in the global economy

Week 4 - March 15 & 17
Regional integration: historical and contemporary perspectives

Week 5 - March 22 & 24
Regional integration in Europe

Week 6 - March 29 & 31
Industrial districts in Italy , part I

Week 7 - April 5 & 7
Mid-term and video ("Made in America? Winners and losers")

Week 8 - April 12 & 24
Industrial districts in Italy , part II

Week 9 - April 19 & 21
Regional integration in Latin America

Week 10 - April 26 & 28
Regional integration in Asia

Week 11 - May 3 & 5
Comparative insights on regional integration

Week 12 - May 10 & 12
Student research reports

Week 13 - Final Exam

Readings

Globalization and Regional Integration: Theoretical Linkages

Competing Conceptions of Globalization

Giovanni Arrighi, Beverly J. Silver, and Benjamin D. Brewer. 2003. "Industrial convergence, globalization, and the persistence of the North-South divide." Studies in Comparative International Development 38, 1: 3-31.

Gary Gereffi. 2005. "The global economy: organization, governance, and development." In Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg (eds.), Handbook of Economic Sociology , 2 nd ed. Princeton University Press and Russell Sage Foundation.

Gary Gereffi. 2001. "Shifting governance structures in global commodity chains, with special reference to the Internet."American Behavioral Scientist 44, 10: 1616-1637.

Raphael Kaplinsky, "Globalisation and unequalisation: what can be learned from value chain analysis?" Journal of Development Studies 37, 2 (2000): 117-146.

Industrial Upgrading: How Countries Move Up in the Global Economy

Gary Gereffi. 1999. "International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain." Journal of International Economics 48, 1: 37-70.

Sanjaya Lall. 2000. "The technological structure and performance of developing country manufactured exports, 1985- 1998." Oxford Development Studies 28, 3: 337-369.

Carlo Pietrobelli and Roberta Rabellotti. 2002. "How can SMEs in clusters and value chains make the best of globalization?" Powerpoint presentation to the Dept. of Sustainable Development, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington , DC . Sept. 19. http://www.iadb.org/sds/doc/rryp.pdf

Regional Integration in Europe

Jacques Delors. 1989. "A necessary union." Address by Mr. Jacques Delors, President of the Commission of the European Communities, Bruges , Oct. 17.

Neil Fligstein and Alec Stone Sweet. 2002. "Constructing politics and markets: an institutionalist account of European integration."American Journal of Sociology 107, 5: 1206-1243.

Gerard Delanty. 2004. "What does it mean to be a ‘European'." Plenary lecture for the conference "Cosmopolitanism and Europe," Royal Holloway University , London , April 22-23.

Italian Industrial Districts

History

Sebastiano Brusco. 1990. "The idea of the industrial distict: Its genesis." Pp. 10- 19 in F. Pyke, G. Becattini, and W. Sengenberger (eds.), Industrial Districts and Inter-Firm Co-operation in Italy . Geneva : International Institute for Labor Studies.

Vittoria Capecchi. 1990. "A history of flexible specialization and industrial districts in Emilia-Romagna ." Pp. 20- 36 in F. Pyke, G. Becattini, and W. Sengenberger (eds.), Industrial Districts and Inter-Firm Co-operation in Italy . Geneva : International Institute for Labor Studies.

Contemporary Studies

Alessia Amighini and Roberta Rabellotti. 2005. "How do Italian footwear districts face globalization?" Forthcoming in European and Planning Studies .

Domenico Cersosimo and Gianfranco Viesti. 2003. "The changing Mezzogiorno, industrial districts and new regional development policies." February. 18 pp.

Tommaso Ciarli and Roberta Rabellotti. 2004. "ICTs in industrial districts: An empirical analysis on adoption, use and impact in the Biella textile district." March. 37 pp.

Francesca Gambarotto and Stefano Solari. 2005. "How do local institutions contribute to fostering competitiveness of industrial clusters? The upgrading process for the Italian eyewear system." Forthcoming in Giuliani E., Rabellotti R., and van Dijk M.P. (eds.), Clusters facing competition: the importance of external linkages . Ashgate: Aldershot.

Roberta Rabellotti. 2004. "How globalization affects Italian industrial districts: the case of Brenta." Pp. 140- 173 in Hubert Schmitz (ed.), Local Enterprises in the Global Economy: Issues of Governance and Upgrading . Cheltenham, UK: Edgar Elgar.

PRIN website, "Dynamic capabilities, firm organization, and local systems of production"
http://www.dse.unibo.it/prin/prin2003/index.php?impling=en&pag=elenco_unita.php
Great set of current Working Papers and research publications on Italian industrial districts.

Regional Integration in the Americas

Jennifer Bair and Gary Gereffi. 2001. "Local Clusters in Global Chains: The Causes and Consequences of Export Dynamism in Torreon 's Blue Jeans Industry."World Development 29, 11: 1885-1903.

Gary Gereffi and Frederick Mayer. 2002. "Public and Private Governance of Economic Integration in the Americas: Lessons from the North American Experience." Dec. 12, manuscript, 16 pp.

Gary Gereffi and Frederick Mayer. 2003. "Making Global Economic Integration Work." Memo, Dec. 20, 6 pp.

Elisa Giuliani, Carlo Pietrobelli, and Roberta Rabellotti. 2003. "Upgrading in global value chains: lessons from Latin American clusters." Paper presented at a conference on "Clusters, Industrial Districts and Firms: The Challenge of Globalization," September, Modena , Italy .

Sandra Polaski. 2003. "How to build a better trade pact with Central America ."
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Issue Brief, July. 6 pp.

Regional Integration in Asia

Alice D. Ba. 2003. "China and ASEAN: Renavigating Relations for a 21 st -Century Asia ." Asian Survey 43, 4: 622-647.

Dajin Peng. 2002. "Invisible linkages: A regional perspective of East Asian political Economy." International Studies Quarterly 46: 423-447.

John Ravenhill. 2003. "The move to preferential trade in the Western Pacific Rim ." East-West Center , No. 69, June.

Robert Scollay and John P. Gilbert. 2001. New Regional Trading Agreements in the Asia Pacific? Washington , DC : Institute for International Economics.

A set of syllabi on regionalism in Southeast Asia can be found at http://aunvirtualu.dlsu.edu.ph/Philippines/Regionalism/index.html