Trade Fragmentation, Global Value Chains, and Regional Economic Resilience

A special issue of Economies (ISSN 2227-7099). This special issue belongs to the section "International, Regional, and Transportation Economics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2027 | Viewed by 313

Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Interests: international economics and business; international trade; global value chains; supply chain management; logistics and transport systems; regional economic resilience; innovation and digital transformation; sustainable business systems; strategic alliances and inter-organizational networks

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global trade and production networks are increasingly influenced by trade fragmentation, geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and renewed debates on regionalization, strategic autonomy, and economic security. These developments challenge the efficiency-oriented logic that has long underpinned global value chains and raise important questions about how firms, regions, and countries adjust to a more fragmented global economy.

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to disseminate important empirical and theoretical research on the links between trade fragmentation, global value chain restructuring, and regional economic resilience, which may include, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Trade fragmentation and its implications for firms, industries, and regions;
  • Global value chain reconfiguration, reshoring, and nearshoring;
  • Supply chain restructuring under geoeconomic uncertainty;
  • Regional economic resilience, adaptation, and recovery from external shocks;
  • Economic integration, regionalization, and strategic autonomy;
  • Trade policy uncertainty, industrial policy, and economic security;
  • The role of international trade in regional development and structural transformation.

By integrating international economics, regional studies, international business, and supply chain perspectives, this Special Issue aims to advance understanding of resilience in a changing global economy.

Dr. Klavdij Logožar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Economies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • trade fragmentation
  • global value chains
  • regional economic resilience
  • supply chain restructuring
  • geoeconomic uncertainty
  • value chain reconfiguration
  • strategic autonomy
  • economic integration

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

37 pages, 3824 KB  
Article
From WTO-Centered Governance to a Layered Trade Architecture: Functional Allocation Across Institutional Venues, 2000–2025
by Klavdij Logožar
Economies 2026, 14(8), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14080340 - 12 Aug 2026
Viewed by 119
Abstract
Global trade governance is being reshaped as multilateral rulemaking and dispute settlement face persistent constraints. However, it remains unclear whether this development signals institutional decline or a layered allocation of governance functions across interconnected venues. This study develops a functional-allocation framework and examines [...] Read more.
Global trade governance is being reshaped as multilateral rulemaking and dispute settlement face persistent constraints. However, it remains unclear whether this development signals institutional decline or a layered allocation of governance functions across interconnected venues. This study develops a functional-allocation framework and examines rulemaking, enforcement, and coordination across the World Trade Organization (WTO), WTO-linked mechanisms, and regional trade agreements (RTAs). The framework distinguishes directly observable functional allocation from functional reallocation as a process-oriented interpretation of institutional change. The analysis combines a mapping of 282 RTA governance events entering into force between 2000 and 2025 with treaty content and institutional design data and a structured comparison of WTO core agreements, differentiated arrangements, enforcement supplements, and plurilateral initiatives. The findings identify a layered trade architecture rather than a simple shift away from the WTO. The WTO retains selected multilateral functions, differentiated arrangements sustain selective cooperation within its framework, and WTO-linked mechanisms supplement constrained appellate enforcement. RTAs provide additional venues for rulemaking, enforcement, and coordination. Among directly classified RTA events, formal adjudication increased from 76.0% in 2000–2004 to 100.0% in 2020–2025. Formal adjudication and institutionalized coordination are also positively associated with core substantive treaty depth. These patterns are consistent with functional allocation across a layered architecture, but do not establish that WTO constraints caused the observed institutional configurations. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop