Innovación, recursos naturales y manufactura avanzada: nuevos dilemas de la industrialización en América Latina

Industrialisation has historically been seen as a driving force in the process of development. Evidence shows that Latin American countries have found it difficult to make progress in processes of structural change based on industry that go beyond low income level equilibria. An argument is currently ongoing concerning what strategies can potentially be applied to a path for development in Latin America. In the USA and in Europe there has been a resurgence of concern for strengthening industry, particularly manufacturing industry, but in Latin America two approaches can be seen: a model of development based on natural resources and a model based on manufacturing industry. Both have knowledge and innovation at their core and both incorporate manufacturing industry, but the first places more emphasis on specialising in natural resourcebased industries while the second follows the tradition course in the economics of development of making industry the driving force for development and adding value to existing industry. This paper seeks to discuss some of the challenges that Latin America faces in adding value and accelerating the process of development, and to analyse the advantages and opportunities offered by the proposal of adding value based on the development of advanced manufacturing. The analysis focuses on the case of Mexico, though many of the arguments set out are applicable to other countries that have focused on manufacturing.