Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Department of Political Science
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Abstract
This dissertation examines how Global Value Chain (GVC) integration influences the regulatory depth of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) across 154 countries from 1990-2015. As global production networks have transformed international trade, with approximately 50% of world trade consisting of intermediate inputs by 2015, PTAs have simultaneously evolved from simple tariff-reduction instruments to comprehensive regulatory frameworks governing intellectual property, investment, technical standards, and beyond-the-border policies. This study investigates whether and how countries' positions in global supply chains shape their demand for deeper regulatory commitments in trade agreements.
Drawing on transaction cost economics, credible commitment theory, and institutional learning frameworks, I test three interconnected hypotheses using fixed-effects panel regression analysis. First, I hypothesize that GVC integration drives deeper PTA commitments through transaction cost reduction and credible commitment mechanisms. Second, I predict this relationship is systematically stronger for lower-income countries facing greater institutional constraints. Third, I expect the effect weakens as countries accumulate PTA experience through institutional learning and strategic sophistication.
The empirical findings reveal substantial heterogeneity that uniform models mask. While baseline unconditional models show no significant average effect, conditional analyses demonstrate that lower-income countries exhibit positive relationships between GVC integration and PTA depth, whereas high-income countries show statistically significant negative relationships. Similarly, countries with extensive PTA portfolios exhibit strong negative relationships, while those with fewer agreements show near-zero effects. Temporal subsample analysis reveals a dramatic reversal: during 1990-2002, GVC integration strongly predicted deeper PTAs, but during 2003-2015, the relationship reversed significantly.
These patterns challenge both classical trade theory's uniform preference predictions and liberal institutionalist convergence arguments. The findings support conditional frameworks recognizing that domestic institutional capacity, strategic choices, and accumulated experience mediate how international economic pressures translate into institutional outcomes. This research contributes to international political economy scholarship by empirically demonstrating that GVC integration creates distinct political coalitions around trade agreement design, that globalization's effects vary systematically across institutional contexts, and that institutional preferences evolve through policy experience.
Date
1-12-2026
Recommended Citation
Keser, Ceren, "The Influence of Global Value Chains on the Design of Preferential Trade Agreements" (2026). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 6984.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/6984
Committee Chair
Tirone, Daniel C.