4 Trade and industrial policy in developing countries

2013 ◽  
pp. 212-216
Author(s):  
John T. Thoburn

This chapter looks at policies for industrialization in developing countries, considering changes that have taken place since the Second World War, including the rise and subsequent demise of the so-called Washington Consensus approach. It discusses import substituting industrialization, export development, trade liberalization and the impact of post-2000 new WTO rules on trade-related policy measures. It shows how the East Asian model of substantial government intervention in the economy has been followed by a number of successful countries, not just Japan, Korea and Taiwan, but also China and Vietnam.


Author(s):  
Cheng Thomas K

This chapter offers a coherent approach to competition law enforcement in developing countries. The promotion of economic growth and development should be the paramount objective of competition law enforcement in developing countries. However, ascribing the objective of the promotion of economic growth and development to competition law enforcement in developing countries does not require a detraction from a focus on promoting competition. In addition, competition law enforcement in developing countries must abide by the principle of causing no harm to the poor in society. If a developing country decides to pursue industrial policy, its competition authority may be asked to balance between competition and industrial policy objectives. Ultimately, competition law enforcement in developing countries must take into account the economic characteristics of developing countries as well as the enforcement capacity of developing country authorities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 07 (02) ◽  
pp. 1650012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos M. Correa

The early industrialization process in developed countries took place under flexible frameworks of intellectual property (IP) protection. Those countries, however, proposed and obtained in trade negotiations the adoption of an international IP regime that expanded and strengthened such protection. While the role of this regime, especially patents, in promoting innovation is controversial, it may effectively limit the ability of developing countries to implement industrial policies. These countries can preserve some room to implement such policies by using certain flexibilities, such as applying rigorous standards of patentability and granting compulsory licenses to broaden the space for local production.


Industrial policy has long been regarded as a strategy to encourage sector, industry, or economy-wide development by the state. It has been central to competitiveness, catching-up, and structural change in both advanced and developing countries. It has also been one of the most contested issues in economics, reflecting ideologically inflected debates and shifts in prevailing ideas. There has lately been a renewed interest in industrial policy in academic circles and international policy dialogues, prompted by the weak outcomes of policies pursued by many developing countries under the direction of the Washington Consensus (and its descendants), the slow economic recovery of many advanced economies after the 2008 global financial crisis, and mounting anxieties about the economic, social, and political consequences of globalization. The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Policy presents a comprehensive review of and novel approaches to the conceptual and theoretical foundations of industrial policy. The Handbook also presents analytical perspectives on how industrial policy connects to broader issues of development strategy, macroeconomic policies, infrastructure development, human capital, and political economy. By combining historical and theoretical perspectives and integrating conceptual issues with empirical evidence drawn from advanced, emerging, and developing countries, the Handbook offers valuable lessons and policy insights to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers on developing productive transformation, technological capabilities, and international competitiveness. It addresses pressing issues including climate change, the gendered dimensions of industrial policy, global governance, and technological change. Written by leading international thinkers on the subject, the volume pulls together different perspectives and schools of thoughts from neo-classical to structuralist development economists to discuss and highlight the adaptation of industrial policy in an ever-changing socio-economic and political landscape.


Author(s):  
Antonio Andreoni

Technical change is a major driver of structural transformation and industrial mutations within and across sectors of the economy. We show how, by deploying different concepts of sector—commodity/product, production/technology, or location-based taxonomies—we can better capture the heterogeneity of production activities, shifting sectoral boundaries, industrial mutations, sources of technical change, and non-linear patterns of structural change. These are important dimensions for industrial policy targeting. We analyse these technological dynamics with an industrial ecosystem framework structured around several sectoral value chains underpinned by different technology platforms. Within this framework, we highlight the role of digital technologies alongside other key enabling technologies and discuss technological change trajectories and cross-sectoral diversification patterns. Against this background, we discuss the specific challenges of deploying digital technologies effectively faced by developing countries. To address these challenges and capture windows of digital opportunity, industrial policy must be articulated along both sectoral and cross-sectoral mission-oriented strategies.


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