Suchergebnisse

For a growing number of countries in Africa the discovery and exploitation of natural resources is a great opportunity, but one accompanied by considerable risks. In Africa, countries dependent on oil, gas, and mining have tended to have weaker long-run growth, higher rates of poverty, and greater income inequality than less resource-abundant economies. In resource-producing economies, relative prices make it more difficult to diversify into activities outside of the resource sector, limiting structural change. Economic structure matters for at least two reasons. First, countries whose exports are highly concentrated are vulnerable to declining prices and volatility. Second, economic diversification matters for long-term growth. This book presents research undertaken to understand how better management of the revenues and opportunities associated with natural resources can accelerate diversification and structural change in Africa. It begins with chapters on managing the boom, the construction sector, and linking industry to the resource—three major issues that frame the question of how to use natural resources for structural change. It then reports the main research results for five countries—Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia. Each country study covers the same three themes—managing the boom, the construction sector, and linking industry to the resource. One message that clearly emerges is that good policy can make a difference. A concluding chapter sets out some ideas for policy change in each of the areas that guided the research, and then goes on to propose some ideas for widening the options for structural change.

Much of the information relevant to policy formulation for industrial development is held by the private sector, not by public officials. There is, therefore, fairly broad agreement in the development literature that some form of structured engagement—often referred to as close or strategic coordination—between the public and private sectors is needed, to assist in the design of appropriate policies and provide feedback on their implementation. There is less agreement on how that engagement should be structured, how its objectives be defined, and how success be measured. In fact, the academic literature provides little practical guidance on how governments interested in developing such a framework should go about doing it. The burden of this lack of guidance falls most heavily on Africa, where—despite twenty years of growth—lack of structural transformation has slowed job creation and the pace of poverty reduction. In 2014, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) launched a joint research project: The Practice of Industrial Policy. The aim is to help African policy makers develop better coordination between public and private sectors in order to identify the constraints to faster structural transformation and design, implement, and monitor policies to remove them. This book, written by national researchers and international experts, presents the results of that research by combining a set of analytical 'framing' essays on close coordination with case studies of successful and unsuccessful efforts at close coordination in Africa and in comparator countries.

Natural resources can make diversification and structural change more challenging. This chapter focuses on why public policy matters. International competitiveness depends on both relative prices and on the policy and institutional changes and investments that governments make to enhance it. Drawing on the five country case studies in this volume, the authors suggest lessons for the design of policies to promote structural change in Africa's resource exporters. They address the three key themes—managing the boom, the construction sector, and linking industry to the resource—then propose ideas for widening options for structural change. These include reforms to deal with 'Dutch disease', expanding the concept of structural change from a focus on industrialization to 'industries without smokestacks', and investing in knowledge.

There is increasing recognition that the market imperfections on which theoretical arguments for industrial policies rest are widespread in low-income countries, and that well-designed government policies can contribute to improved economic outcomes. There is also greater understanding that the private sector has a central role to play in formulating and implementing industrial policy. Because much of the information relevant to policy-making is held by firms, some form of structured engagement—often referred to as close or strategic coordination—between the public and private sectors is needed, both to assist in the design of appropriate public actions and to provide effective feedback on their implementation. This introductory chapter provides an overview of common themes and outlines a set of forward-looking ideas for strengthening public–private coordination in Africa. It argues that these ideas must form part of any development agenda for Africa in the years to come.

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1. Overview -- 2. Industrial Policy, Firm Capabilities and Kaizen -- 3. Kaizen towards Learning, Transformation, and High-Quality Growth: Insights from Outstanding Experiences -- 4. Why is Kaizen Critical for Developing Countries? Kaizen as a Social Innovation in the Era of Global Inequality -- 5. Kaizen promotion in Ethiopia – A role of the government and change of mindset of people -- 6. Kaizen Dissemination through the Government and Private Sector in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar -- 7. Opportunities for Kaizen in Africa: Developing the Core Employability Skills of African Youth through Kaizen -- 8. The Role of Kaizen in Participation in the Global Value Chain: The Case of the Mexican Automotive Industry -- 9. Enhancing Learning through Continuous Improvement: Case Studies of the Toyota Production System in the Automotive Industry in South Africa -- 10. Does Management Matter? An Assessment of Kaizen in Brazil -- 11. Kaizen for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Vietnam -- 12. Management Practices and Performance Improvement in Manufacturing Enterprises: The Case of Kaizen Adoption in Ghana -- 13. Consequences of Kaizen practices in MSMEs in the Philippines: The case of the Manufacturing Productivity Extension Program (MPEX).