The Practice of Industrial Policy: GovernmentBusiness Coordination in Africa and East Asia (WIDER Studies in Development Economics)

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, both to assist in the design of appropriate policies and to provide feedback on their implementation. There is less agreement on how that engagement should be structured, how its objectives should be defined, and how success should be measured. In fact, the academic literature on close coordination provides little practical guidance on how governments interested in developing a framework for government business engagement should go about doing it. The burden of this lack of guidance falls most heavily on Africa, where despite 20 years of growth lack of structural transformation has slowed job creation and the pace of poverty reduction. Increasingly, African governments are seeking to design and implement policies to encourage the more rapid growth of high productivity industries and in the process confronting the need to engage constructively with the private sector. These efforts have met with mixed results. For sustained success in structural transformation, new policies and new approaches to government-business coordination will be needed.In 2014 the Korea International Cooperation Agency and UNU-WIDER launched a joint research project on 'The Practice of Industrial Policy'. The objective of the project was to help African policy-makers develop better coordination between the public and private sectors in order to identify the constraints to faster structural transformation and to design, implement, and monitor policies to remove them. This book, written by national researchers and international experts, presents the results of that research. 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, Both To Assist In The Design Of Appropriate Policies And To Provide Feedback On Their Implementation. There Is Less Agreement On How That Engagement Should Be Structured, How Its Objectives Should Be Defined, And How Success Should Be Measured. In Fact, The Academic Literature On Close Coordination Provides Little Practical Guidance On How Governments Interested In Developing A Framework For Government-business Engagement Should Go About Doing It. 1. Overview And Insights / John Page And Finn Tarp -- Part I. Coordination And Industrial Policy --- 2. Industrial Policy, Learning, And Development / Joseph E. Stiglitz -- 3. Coordination Through An Asian Lens / Justin Yifu Lin And Khuong Minh Vu -- 4. State-business Relations As Drivers Of Economic Performance / Alberto Lemma And Dirk Willem Te Velde -- 5. State Capability And Prospects For Close Coordination: Considerations For Industrial Policy In Africa / Rachel M. Gisselquist -- Part Ii. Coordination Mechanisms In Asia -- 6. Korea's Evolving Business-government Relationship / Eun Mee Kim -- 7. The Industrial Policy Experience Of The Electronics Industry In Malaysia / Rajah Rasiah -- 8. Case Studies Of Decentralized Coordination In China / Hinh T. Dinh -- 9. The Political Economy Of Industrial Development In Viet Nam: Impact Of State-business Relationship On Industrial Performance, 1986-2013 / Tu-anh Vu-thanh -- Part Iii. Building Coordination In Africa -- 10. A Natural Experiment Of Industrial Policy: Floriculture And The Metal And Engineering Industries In Ethiopia, Mulu Gebreeyesus -- 11. Policy Coordination And Growth Traps In A Middle-income Country Setting: The Case Of South Africa / Haroon Bhorat, Aalia Cassim, And Alan Hirsch -- 12. Special Economic Zones In Africa: Political Economy Challenges And Solutions / Thomas Farole And Lotta Moberg -- 13. Ghana's Rxperiments With Business-government Coordination / Ernest Aryeetey And Nkechi S. Owoo -- 14. Importing Coordination: Africa's Presidential Investors' Advisory Councils / John Page. Edited By John Page And Finn Tarp ; A Study Prepared By The United Nations University World Institute For Development Economics Research (unu-wider). Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. 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, both to assist in the design of appropriate policies and to provide feedback on their implementation. There is less agreement on how that engagement should be structured, how its objectives should be defined, and how success should be measured. In fact, the academic literature on close coordination provides little practical guidance on how governments interested in developing a framework for government—business engagement should go about doing it. The burden of this lack of guidance falls most heavily on Africa, where — despite 20 years of growth — lack of structural transformation has slowed job creation and the pace of poverty reduction. Increasingly, African governments are seeking to design and implement policies to encourage the more rapid growth of high productivity industries and in the process confronting the need to engage constructively with the private sector. These efforts have met with mixed results. For sustained success in structural transformation, new policies and new approaches to government-business coordination will be needed. In 2014 the Korea International Cooperation Agency and UNU-WIDER launched a joint research project on'The Practice of Industrial Policy'. The objective of the project was to help African policy-makers develop better coordination between the public and private sectors in order to identify the constraints to faster structural transformation and to design, implement, and monitor policies to remove them. This book, written by national researchers and international experts, presents the results of that research. 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