The international division of labour is undergoing profound change: global value chains, rapidly increasing trade in services, automation, and the rise of "superstar companies" are changing the way companies produce and how countries participate in world trade. On the one hand, this dynamic opens up enormous opportunities for prosperity, but on the other hand, it leads to noticeable distribution conflicts between employees, employers, regions and countries, as well as growing economic uncertainty along global value chains. Many of the currently visible counter-movements to globalisation and technological change – including economic nationalism – are rooted in precisely these tensions and uncertainties.
"The fundamental problem is that existing economic policy instruments often fall short because they are not geared towards these new forms of trade, production, and increased economic uncertainty," explains Prof. Dr Hartmut Egger, Chair of Economics at the University of Bayreuth. "Thanks to funding from the DFG, the new IDoL research network is investigating how these new forms of globalisation affect workers, businesses and politics, and what political measures are necessary to enable society to participate more broadly in the benefits of world trade."
In this project, the researchers are analysing how global value chains emerge, how technological changes influence trade patterns, and who are the winners and losers of globalisation. The aim is to develop evidence-based recommendations that help to defuse distribution conflicts.
The University of Bayreuth plays a central scientific role in the research network. Researchers from Bayreuth are significantly involved in several core areas of the project. They are working on the analysis of global value chains, leading the investigation of technological changes, and examining internationally active companies against the backdrop of increasing global uncertainty. The University of Bayreuth is thus not only coordinating the network, but also shaping key parts of the joint research agenda.
The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the new research network "International Division of Labour (IDoL)" with several million euros over four years. The funds will not only go to the University of Bayreuth as the coordinating institution, but will also flow to three other centres of excellence in globalisation research: Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, the University of Göttingen, and the ifo Institute in Munich. The consortium is complemented by two internationally renowned economists from Denmark and Austria, who are actively involved in the research work as Mercator Fellows. An international Scientific Advisory Board of high calibre – including experts from the University of Oxford, UCL, UC San Diego and the World Bank – supports the research network and ensures that the research is continuously enriched by leading international expertise. In this way, IDoL brings together the expertise of leading institutions and combines German and international cutting-edge research on the central challenges of the global division of labour. The project will start in 2026.
