Digital connectivity and reliable energy supply jointly shape the capacity of economies to participate in global production networks. Using balanced panel data for 47 countries from 2005 to 2020, this thesis examines the effects of internet penetratio...
Digital connectivity and reliable energy supply jointly shape the capacity of economies to participate in global production networks. Using balanced panel data for 47 countries from 2005 to 2020, this thesis examines the effects of internet penetration and electricity accessibility on manufacturing participation in global value chains (GVCs). The dependent variable measures overall manufacturing GVC participation by combining forward and backward participation, while the main explanatory variables are the share of individuals using the internet and the population share with access to electricity. The analysis employs pooled OLS, country fixed effects, and two-way fixed effects models, and further tests robustness through instrumental- variable estimation, an alternative energy indicator, and decomposed GVC participation measures. The results show that internet penetration significantly promotes manufacturing GVC participation. Electricity accessibility also contributes positively to GVC integration after country and year effects are controlled. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that internet penetration has a stronger positive effect in developing economies, where digital infrastructure continues to expand the scope for entry into international production networks. In developed economies, electricity accessibility is more closely associated with stable and higher-quality value-chain participation. Decomposition results further show that internet penetration mainly raises forward participation, whereas electricity accessibility has a stronger role in backward participation. These findings suggest that digital inclusion and energy security form complementary foundations for manufacturing upgrading in global value chains.