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Is African Industry Competing?

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  • Sanjaya Lall (QEH)

Abstract

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 African manufacturing relative to that of other developing regions. It finds that Africa is becoming increasingly marginal to the technological dynamics of global economy. It shows few signs of a responding to the competitive stimulus of liberalization or of attracting more mobile foreign productive factors. It analyses the reasons for this performance and argues that the basic problem of African industry lies not in the investment climate (which can certainly be improved) or in gaining market access to rich countries (which is already very good for manufactures, and has improved with initiatives like AGOA) but in the low level of its industrial capabilities. The paper concludes with the need to reconsider current African industrial strategy and to evolve a new strategy focused on building capabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Sanjaya Lall (QEH), "undated". "Is African Industry Competing?," QEH Working Papers qehwps122, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:qeh:qehwps:qehwps122
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    File URL: http://workingpapers.qeh.ox.ac.uk/RePEc/qeh/qehwps/qehwps122.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sanjaya Lall & Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Simón Teitel & Ganeshan Wignaraja, 1994. "Technology and Enterprise Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-13925-5, March.
    2. Jan Willem Gunning & Paul Collier, 1999. "Explaining African Economic Performance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 64-111, March.
    3. David E. Bloom & Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1998. "Geography, Demography, and Economic Growth in Africa," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 29(2), pages 207-296.
    4. Devarajan, Shantayanan & Easterly, William R & Pack, Howard, 2003. "Low Investment Is Not the Constraint on African Development," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(3), pages 547-571, April.
    5. Lall, Sanjaya, 2003. "Indicators of the relative importance of IPRs in developing countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1657-1680, October.
    6. Sanjaya Lall, 1996. "Learning from the Asian Tigers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-38989-2, March.
    7. Biggs, T. & Shah, M. & Srivastava, P., 1995. "Technological Capabilities and Learning in African Enterprises," Papers 288, World Bank - Technical Papers.
    8. Sanjaya Lall & Carlo Pietrobelli, 2002. "Failing to Compete," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2360.
    9. Sanjaya Lall, 2005. "FDI, AGOA and Manufactured Exports by a Landlocked, Least Developed African Economy: Lesotho," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(6), pages 998-1022.
    10. Lagunes, Paul & Pocasangre, Oscar, 2017. "Dynamic Transparency: An Audit of Mexico’s Freedom of Information Act," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8551, Inter-American Development Bank.
    11. Sanjaya Lall & Manuel Albaladejo & Jinkang Zhang, 2004. "Mapping fragmentation: Electronics and automobiles in East Asia and Latin America," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 407-432.
    12. Sanjaya Lall (QEH), "undated". "FDI, AGOA And Manufactured Exports From A Land-Locked, Least-Developed African Economy: Lesotho," QEH Working Papers qehwps109, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    13. Sanjaya Lall, 2001. "Competitiveness, Technology and Skills," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2298.
    14. Sanjaya Lall & Shujiro Urata (ed.), 2003. "Competitiveness, FDI and Technological Activity in East Asia," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2837.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Bailey & Helena Lenihan & Ajit Singh, 2009. "Lessons for African Economies from Irish and East Asian Industrial Policy," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 357-382, December.

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