Global value chains over business cycles

•We propose a production activity accounting framework with which to distinguish GVC and non-GVC production activities.•We also propose a set of GVC participation indices that improves on measures used in the literature.•The composition of different types of production activities in global GDP has evolved dramatically since 1995.•Production activities of complex GVC activities comove with global business cycles more than other types of production activities.•The level of GVC participation affects the performance of economic growth. Global Value Chains (GVCs) now represent a key aspect of economic interdependence across countries. This paper makes two methodological contributions. First, it proposes a framework with which to decompose total production activities at the country, sector, or country-sector level into different types depending on whether they are for pure domestic demand, traditional international trade, simple GVC activities, and complex GVC activities. Second, this work proposes a set of GVC participation indices that improves on measures used in the literature. Upon applying this framework to Inter-Country Input-Output Tables, we find a number of interesting patterns connecting value chains and business cycles. First, the composition of global production has evolved dramatically since 1995. Second, production activities of complex GVC activities comove with global business cycles more than other types of production activities. Third, the level of GVC participation affects the performance of economic growth.