Africa's industrial performance has been poor and its ability to industrialize successfully is under increasing question. This paper argues that industrialization remains vital to African development. It describes the current global industrial setting and analyses the recent performance of...

There is growing concern in Southeast and East Asia about the competitive threat posed by China’s burgeoning exports, exacerbated by its accession to the WTO. The threat is not confined to labour-intensive products but spans the whole technological and skill range. At the same time, China is...

This paper maps recent manufactured export patterns in developing countries, using a new and detailed classification by technology. It argues that export structures, being path-dependent and difficult to change, have implications for growth and development. Low technology products tend to grow...

This paper explores China's competitive threat to Latin America in trade in manufactures. The direct threat in exports to third country markets appears small: LAC's trade structure is largely complementary to that of China. In bilateral trade, several LAC countries are increasing primary and...

There remains considerable controversy on the economic impact of TRIPS (interpreted here as the tightening of IPRs) in developing countries; needless to say, the new round of WTO negotiations adds considerable interest to this controversy. This paper focuses on the long-term structural issues...

This paper analyses the case for selective industrial and trade policies in Africa, drawing upon the lessons of East Asia. It reviews the theoretical arguments for government intervention in the context of technological learning, and relates this to the new environment of rapid technical change...

International mergers and acquisitions have become the preferred mode of overseas investment by multinational companies, accounting for the bulk of FDI in the developed world and for increasing shares in the developing world. However, many governments express concern about this mode of MNC...

This paper considers the prospects for Turkish manufactured exports, now dominated by simple labour-intensive products. The importance to Turkey of diversifying its export base has risen with its EU free trade agreement, where it has advantages in labour-intensive exports but where special...

Developing country policy makers worry about national competitiveness and closely watch indices ranking international competitive performance. This paper analyzes from the development economics perspective if competitiveness is a legitimate policy concern, and if the leading indices deserve the...

'Fragmentation', the relocation of processes or functions across countries in response to cost and other differences, has important implications for development. We discuss the drivers of fragmentation and map it for electronics and automotives in East Asia and Latin America. For technical...