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...

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...

Syrian manufacturing industry has several advantages: it has a long history and a strong entrepreneurial base, relatively low wages and a good location to serve large markets in oil-rich neighbours and Europe. It has not, however, performed well. This paper focuses on its record in the 1990s,...

"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 (EA) and Latin America. For technical...

This paper attempts to identify key determinants of competitiveness in SME clusters, with especial reference to Latin America. It takes the debate forward as its extended framework adds country- and firm-level determinants to the existing cluster-level factors of the 'collective efficiency'...

The paper is an empirical investigation of key internal and external sources of innovation capability in small and medium firms (SME) in the UK. An experimental measure of innovation capability is designed, which captures not merely the occurrence of innovations but also their scientific...

This paper assesses the industrial performance and capabilities of Nigeria over the last decade. It explores Nigeria's export and production capacity, growth, structure and technological upgrading and compares it to other Sub-Saharan countries. Evidence shows that Nigerian industry is inexorably...

Manufacturing in Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) faces severe competitive stresses as it integrates into the global economy. It is not, on the whole, coping well. Though it was the first region in the developing world - in the post-war era - to liberalize on international trade and...

La producción industrial en la región de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) se enfrenta a una competencia muy severa e intensa a medida que se integra a la economía global. En líneas generales, la región no está manejando la situación muy bien. A pesar de ser ésta la primera región en el...