Tracking the Economic Geography of Commodities: Avocados, beef, and wood

Ein Vortrag von Joshua Newell (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor) im Rahmen der Seminarreihe des AB Ökonomie am IOS (joint seminar with the Leibniz ScienceCampus).

Have you ever wandered into a store and wondered to yourself, where do the products we consume come from? And under what conditions are they produced? As a result of our globalized world, we are largely disconnected from where and how these products are made. This presentation tracks the lives of three commodities familiar to all of us—avocados, beef, and wood—from the production geographies where they are sourced to their point of consumption. Using a methodology known as Tracking Corporate Actors across Time and Space (TRACAST), I illustrate how, by combining trade data, with remote sensing, spatial analysis, and interviews, researchers can make opaque supply chains more visible and transparent. This leads to all sorts of inquiries related to environmental sustainability, environmental justice, efficiency, and governance.