Stock returns in global value chains: The role of upstreamness and downstreamness

Abstract

We study how upstreamness and downstreamness affect stock returns in global value chains. Upstreamness and downstreamness, which are computed from world input–output tables, measure the average distance from final consumption and primary inputs. We find that downstreamness explains expected returns, whereas upstreamness does not. The downstreamness return premium reflects investors’ compensation for taking on supply-side risks that accumulate along global value chains, such as labor and competition risks. We show that investors perceive far downstream industries as riskier when their suppliers have high unionization rates or labor shares. In addition, far downstream industries operate in more competitive value chains and are characterized by elevated input and output price uncertainties, which makes them particularly risky.