Book Launch – Capitalist Value Chains

Join this fascinating discussion on Wednesday 28th January 2026 at 17:30-19:00 (BST) at University College London (UCL) and online on Zoom.

This event is organised by the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (UCL IIPP). Explore more IIPP events here.

About this talk:

Do Global Value Chains (GVCs) really “boost incomes, create better jobs, and reduce poverty”?

In his new book, co-authored with Christin Bernhold, Benjamin Selwyn challenges this mainstream view by introducing the concept of Capitalist Value Chains (CVCs). Benjamin Selwyn will discuss how CVCs generate highly exploitative jobs, deepen poverty, stunt human development, and damage the environment. Rather than waiting for the promised benefits of “upgrading,” he highlights how workers’ collective action, within specific historical and geographic contexts, can improve pay and conditions. The talk also invites us to imagine a world beyond these capitalist relations of exploitation.

Meet the panel:

• Speaker: Benjamin Selwyn, Professor of International Relations and International Development at University of Sussex, School of Global Studies
• Chair / Discussant: Dr Cecilia Rikap, Head of Research and Associate Professor in Economics at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)

If you have any queries around access, please get in touch with a member of the team (IIPPComms@ucl.ac.uk).

Learn more about the IIPP MPA programme