The Socio-Spatial Dimensions of Industrial Change in Bolivia: Manufacturers, Regions, and the Prospects for Global Value Chain Integration

经济地理学家和区域科学家正在努力更好地理论化和经验评估构成企业，区域经济和全球生产网络的背景和相互作用。 全球市场一体化的快速步伐和消费品跨国价值链的兴起，使得在微观社会互动（例如，企业对企业网络构建过程），中间层上下文（例如，城市和地区），以及宏观尺度结构（例如，全球市场）。 除了这些概念上的关注，大多数关于区域发展和经济全球化动态的研究都集中在核心经济体的企业活动上。 需要从全球南方的公司和行业的角度对产业变革和创新进行更多的研究，以便学者和决策者能够更好地了解发展中国家如何能够更成功和可持续地融入世界经济。 通过分析玻利维亚制造业部门工业变革的社会空间动态，该项目将有助于创新、全球化和区域发展理论，并将提供有关拉丁美洲经济体工业发展和创新的见解。 该项目将分两个阶段进行。在第一阶段，研究人员将选择与玻利维亚有重大联系的制造业（例如，纺织品、服装、木制品或珠宝），然后分析其主要消费市场、领先企业和生产的地理趋势。在第二阶段，深入采访玻利维亚企业主、政策制定者和该行业领先国际公司的代表（非玻利维亚）将用于审查：a）玻利维亚企业的生产系统、创新活动和联网战略; B）玻利维亚的拉巴斯和圣克鲁斯地区领导人正在推动的经济政策和工业发展战略;以及c）与全球市场和产业价值链相关的期望和需求。 研究人员将确定是否，如何以及为什么特定的生产，创新和网络实践位于特定的城市/区域背景下（即，拉巴斯或圣克鲁斯），并将评估玻利维亚公司的能力如何满足主要公司和全球消费者市场的需求，该项目将增进对公司、公司间网络和工业如何在区域范围内运作的理解。从经验上讲，这项研究将记录玻利维亚制造业的特点和能力，并将深入了解经济、社会和地理因素对拉丁美洲国家工业变革的影响。 从概念上讲，这项研究将改进微观尺度进程之间的联系（例如，公司间联网做法）、中等规模的情况（例如，拉巴斯和圣克鲁斯的社会经济特点），以及宏观现象（例如，全球市场）概念化。 在此过程中，本研究将确定关于全球价值链的当代理论是否充分考虑了玻利维亚等地的市场、制度和空间现实，以及如何修改这些理论，以更有效地描述这种情况和与产业升级相关的社会空间进程。 实际上，该研究的结果将为政策制定者提供信息，帮助他们寻找新的途径，促进玻利维亚和全球南方其他国家的工业发展和创新。

Economic geographers and regional scientists are striving to better theorize and empirically assess the contexts and interactions that constitute firms, regional economies, and global production networks. The rapid pace of global market integration and the rise of multinational value chains for consumer goods has made increasingly evident the importance of establishing rigorous empirical and theoretical links between micro-social interactions (e.g., business-to-business network-building processes), meso-level contexts (e.g., cities and regions), and macro-scale structures (e.g., global markets). Beyond these conceptual concerns, most research into the dynamics of regional development and economic globalization centers on the activities of firms based in core economies. Needed are more studies of industrial change and innovation from the perspective of firms and industries in the Global South such that scholars and policymakers can better understand how developing countries might more successfully and sustainably become integrated into the world economy. Through an analysis of the socio-spatial dynamics of industrial change in Bolivia's manufacturing sector, this project will contribute to theories on innovation, globalization, and regional development and will provide insights regarding industrial development and innovation in Latin American economies. The project will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the researcher will select a manufacturing industry having significant ties to Bolivia (e.g., textiles, apparel, wood products, or jewelry) and will then analyze its main consumer markets, leading firms, and geographic trends in production. In the second phase, in-depth interviews with Bolivian business owners, policy makers, and representatives from leading international firms in the industry (non-Bolivian) will be used to examine: a) the production systems, innovation activities, and networking strategies of Bolivian enterprises; b) the economic policies and industrial development strategies being promoted by leaders in the La Paz and Santa Cruz regions of Bolivia; and c) the expectations and demands associated with global markets and value chains for the industry. The researcher will determine if, how, and why particular production, innovation, and networking practices are situated in specific urban/regional contexts (i.e., La Paz or Santa Cruz) and will assess how the capabilities of Bolivian firms correspond to the demands of leading firms and global consumer markets.The project will improve understandings of how firms, inter-firm networks, and industries operate in regional contexts. Empirically, the study will document characteristics and capabilities of Bolivia's manufacturing sector and will provide insights into the economic, social, and geographic influences on industrial change in Latin American countries. Conceptually, the study will improve the ways in which the links between micro-scale processes (e.g., inter-firm networking practices), meso-scale circumstances (e.g., the socioeconomic characteristics of La Paz and Santa Cruz), and macro-scale phenomena (e.g., global markets) are conceptualized. In doing so, the study will determine if contemporary theories on global value chains adequately account for the market, institutional, and spatial realities of places like Bolivia and how these theories might be modified to more effectively depict such circumstances and the socio-spatial processes associated with industrial upgrading. Practically, the study's findings will inform policymakers seeking new ways to facilitate industrial development and innovation in Bolivia and other countries in the Global South.