Global Production Spaces: Concentration, Diversification, and Recomposition

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[...] They are also the initiators of new economic development models with modern forms of organization. In addition, they take advantage of globalization to multiply exchanges between actors with the connection of markets, people and companies. To conclude, the additional study of these two documents has made it possible to highlight several elements on the relevance of a re-composition of production areas at the global level. Thus, economic activity defines the specialization of geographical areas that are concentrated on certain sectors. [...]

[...] territories that host a large number of production units of various global companies (Doc.1). In fact, transnational firms decide to outsource part of their production to gain competitiveness and reduce production costs. These are generally attractive zones due to more lenient labor laws, cheap labor, and tax benefits. Associations and non-governmental organizations also act to reconfigure production spaces. Their action on the ground is accompanied by lobbying work with political or private institutions to ensure respect for a certain ethics in commercial practices, with care for individuals and the environment. [...]

[...] The sectoral evolutions have led to a re-composition of activities. Growth poles emerge in developing areas while advanced countries opt for high-value-added domains. Now, territories are competing on the fields of competitiveness, resources, and sustainability. In the future, global production spaces will continue to mutate, which will shake up the cards. Indeed, the revolution of emerging economies, technological innovations, and the climate crisis will produce a new redistribution that we must anticipate and understand in order to adapt. The study of different actors must allow us to act together to maintain a virtuous growth model and enable the development of all parts of the world. [...]

[...] This concept has enabled the growth and expansion of multinational corporations (MNCs) that take advantage of the reconfiguration of production spaces to create subsidiaries or outsource a certain part of their production in other countries based on their specialization. This strategy is adopted because it reduces costs while ensuring the consideration of the competitive advantages of each region. It is more than 100,000 firms that are the source of about two-thirds of global trade and generating more than 25% of the world's GDP, employing more than 80 million workers. The reconfiguration of global productive spaces is partly explained by the distribution of the value chain. [...]

[...] To fragment their production, multinational firms must analyze and know their potential location before investing. Foreign direct investment (FDI) also participates in the re-composition by allowing the installation of units, structures, and equipment in a foreign country to penetrate a new market, access resources, or benefit from attractive legislation. In 2020, they constituted a set of over $1,000 billion despite the pandemic. They are an integral part of the global value chain by betting on the specialization of each zone in a dedicated activity (Doc.1). [...]