This paper argues that the single most important factor that explains East Asia's development success was its fast structural transformation toward industrialization, manufacturing in particular. Workers moved out of agriculture into manufacturing, and the sector diversified and upgraded its...

The fragmentation of production has expanded the geographic reach of even the most high-technology value chains into non-traditional suppliers. It has been suggested that the production of parts for high-technology final products can play an important role in advancing economic development. This...