Industrialization drives the sustained growth in jobs and productivity that marks the developmental take-off of most developed economies. Yet, academics and policy makers have questioned the role of manufacturing in development for late industrializers, especially ith more job creation. Industrialization drives the sustained growth in jobs and productivity that marks the developmental take-off of most developed economies. Yet, academics and policy makers have questioned the role of manufacturing in development for late industrializers, especially in view of rapid advancements in technologies and restructuring of international trade.Concurrently, industrialization and structural transformation are integral to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the development strategies of several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Given this renewed interest in industrialization across the region, a central question is not whether SSA countries should pursue industrialization as a potential path to sustainable growth but how to promote the prospects of industrialization. Industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Seizing Opportunities in Global Value Chains addresses this question by reassessing the prospects for industrialization in SSA countries through integration into global value chains. It also examines the role of policy in enhancing these prospects. The main findings indicate that • SSA has not experienced premature deindustrialization; the region has witnessed substantial growth in manufacturing jobs despite a lack of improvement in the contribution of manufacturing value-added to GDP. • The region’s integration into manufacturing global value chains is reasonably high but it is dominated by exports of primary products and engagement in low-skill tasks. • Global value chain integration has led to job growth, and backward integration is associated with more job creation. The report emphasizes the role of policy in maintaining a competitive market environment, promoting productivity growth, and investing in skills development and enabling sectors such as infrastructure and finance. Policy makers can strengthen the global value chain linkages by (1) increasing the value-added content of current exports, (2) upgrading into high-skill tasks, and (3) creating comparative advantages in knowledge-intensive industries.

This report comprehensively reassesses the prospects for industrialization playing a critical role in Sub-Saharan African countries' development and shows that manufacturing represents a viable path to structural transformation through integration into global value chains (GVC).

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - Topic: Globalization, Political Economics, grade: 1,0, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, language: English, abstract: The main question that is supposed to be answered in this paper is: does Africa need Industrial policy for (sustainable) economic development? How are these policies supposed to look like and what are the preconditions to achieve them? To be able to find solutions for these interrelated questions, they have to be embedded in a broader context. First, a short introduction into the history of Africa’s economic development, with regard to (de)industrialization, is being given. To understand why industrial policy might be of importance, one also has to look into the relationship between structural transformation and the chances of economic growth. This paper is aiming to give an overview about the reasons why Africa (mostly Sub-Saharan Africa) has missed industrialization, how structural transformation can lead to (sustainable) economic development and growth and which chances and challenges African countries face as late-industrializers in a world with high levels of globalization. The first part is meant to give a short introduction into the economic development and (de-)industrialization of modern post-colonial Africa. This is important as the current economic situation can only be fully understood by looking at what has happened in the past. The second part is giving theoretical input about structural transformation and the role of industrial policies – discussing its scientific background of pros and cons.

The paper analyzes industrialization experience in sub - Saharan Africa in the last three decades. Focusing on ten key countries, it draws conclusions about the impact of the initial conditions, the external environment, strategies and policies on past industrial development and identifies critical issues for future industrial policy. The analysis centers around three major themes. First, the inward-looking strategy of industrialization, as it was implemented in most African countries, generally increased dependence on imports and was not supported by policies to promote a growing surplus of domestic inputs. Second, vigorous public sector investment or take-over has been widely used to expand basic industries and reduce foreign domination, but pursuit of multiple objectives and over-extension have resulted in disappointing public sector financial performance and efficiency. The third theme concerns the incentive structure created by price, trade, investment and other policies. The paper highlights the critical issues for self-sustained, efficient industrialization. Key strategic questions are the appropriate balance between agriculture and industry and between large- and small-scale sectors, and the appropriate public sector role and intervention points.

A study prepared by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)

This study charts the history and development of the African adjustment to industrialization in East Africa, and examines the input of the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

The restruturing of industrial production, the international division of labor, and continual technological change place developing countries in a global process of industrialization. This book clarifies the positive and negative aspects of this process and examines two different theoretical approaches used to achieve industrialization. The book first focuses on the international economy through examining in detail two relatively successful Third World industrializers--Brazil and South Korea, and than shifts its emphasis to the specific aspects of industrialization such as technology, gender relations, culture and the environment.