It’s a Small, Small World. A Guided Tour of the Belgian Production Network

This article presents stylized facts about the participation of Belgian firms in global and local value chains, using transaction data at the firm level to depict the Belgian production network and its integration in the world economy. These data allow the identification of the various channels through which a Belgian firm has access to the world market, either to source its inputs or to sell its output. We also discuss how the level of efficiency of individual firms is related to their position in the local and global value chains.