Industrialize Africa: strategies, policies, institutions and financing

A new report released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) calls for the industrialization of the continent with a focus on smart industrial policy, structural transformations and a move towards processing the continent’s raw materials into value added products. The report, entitled “Industrialize Africa: Strategies, Policies, Institutions and Financing”, was published to coincide with Africa Industrialization Day on November 20. With contributions from 16 authors, including Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, and famous economists such as Justin Yifu Lin, Haroon Bhorat, Ravi Kanbur, John Page, AfDB Vice-President and Chief Economist Célestin Monga, and AfDB researchers Abebe Shimeles and Amadou Boly. In his introductory remarks, Stiglitz discusses why industrialization remains relevant as Africa enters the 21st century. The report provides practical policy advice to African countries on various aspects of industrial policies; looks at the structural transformation needed to pursue labour-intensive manufacturing akin to East and Southeast Asia; reviews criteria for success in building clusters and Special Economic Zones and industrial parks in developing countries; and draws lessons learnt from Ethiopia’s industrial policies, as well as the cases of China and South Korea.

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