Global value chains and traditional supply chains: Evidence from Guatemala

Global value chains have been at the centre of recent research, but traditional supply chains have been given much less attention. However, quantitative data on both chain types is scarce. Therefore, it remains unclear how much smallholders, formal and informal sectors in traditional and global value chains contribute to gross domestic product (GDP), employment generation and income distribution. This article, by using a broad primary data set of 28 value chains in Guatemala, evidences that traditional chains contribute substantially to the national economy and that the income generated is much more equally distributed than in global value chains.