This paper quantitatively shows that the 1945 regional differences in the degree of development of manufacturing industry are explained by human capital accumulation prior to industrial development. Human capital accumulation was more intense in the regions with higher presence of non white free...

This article documents the impact of the Brazilian railway network on structural transformation between the late nineteenth and middle twentieth century. We exploit variation induced by geographic location, where municipalities near the least-cost routes were more likely to be connected to...

It is often assumed that recent success in the high-technology software industry will lead India's development. However, evidence suggests that basic manufacturing industry is stagnant. This paper proposes a mechanism that ties these two trends together. A big-push type of model, featuring...

This paper argues that official development assistance (foreign aid) is partly responsible for the lack of structural change in Africa. Africa's development partners have devoted too few resources and too little attention to two critical constraints to private investment, infrastructure and...

It is often assumed that recent success in the high-technology software industry will lead India's development. However, evidence suggest that basic manufacturing industry is stagnant. This paper proposes a mechanism that ties these two trends together. A big-push type of model, featuring...

It is often assumed that recent success in the high-technology software industry will lead India's development. However, evidence suggest that basic manufacturing industry is stagnant. This paper proposes a mechanism that ties these two trends together. A big-push type of model, featuring...

Three decades of Turkish experience with nonselective industrial policies (consistent with neoliberal policy) clearly demonstrates that structural transformation in Turkish economy could not be achieved. In this paper, we have three motivations. Our first motivation is to discuss overall...

This paper argues that official development assistance (foreign aid) is partly responsible for the lack of structural change in Africa. Africa's development partners have devoted too few resources and too little attention to two critical constraints to private investment, infrastructure and...

Industrial policy has attracted considerable controversy in the development context. This paper makes a case for a pragmatic and limited approach to interventions as a means of stimulating industrialization in the context of current and future challenges facing newly industrializing economies....

Different bodies of literature emphasise the separate impact of the manufacturing sector and scientific capacity for competitiveness in developing countries. Scientific knowledge can increase productivity and promote innovation, while the manufacturing sector creates spillovers and generates...