Assosa University

School of Postgraduate Studies

Department of Project Planning and Management

(Summer Program)

Group Assignment on Development Theory & policy

Course

Review of Paper presented at IEA/World Bank Roundtable on Industrial

Policy in Africa Pretoria, South Africa 3-4 July 2012

Ha-Joon Chang

Faculty of Economics

University of Cambridge

Group Member Id No.

1. Musa Ahmed-----------------------------------GBES/048/08
2. Fekadu Deresa --------------------------------GBES/043/08
3. Abebaw Getinet--------------------------------GBES/059/08
4. Yirgalem Bekalu-------------------------------GBES/035/08
5. Hyder Hamid----------------------------------GBES/076/08
 6. Getachew Hirpa -------------------------------GBES/063/08
7. Addisu Embyale -------------------------------GBES/056/08
8. Takele Orshiso----------------------------------GBES/057/08
9. Melese Senbeta ---------------------------------GBES/038/08

August/2016

Assosa
The article review on industrial policy, can Africa do it?

1. Introduction:

This is an article review that is to revise an argument and criticism an industrial policy of Africa
in title cans Africa do it? And put conclusions how much the organization of infrastructural
epidemic to Africa growth climate, geography and culture are among the factors and the
criticisms on the argument are well stated and also what they share in common and additionally
how are can interrelate the arguments and criticism and put directions for Africa’s future
development

2. The Methodology:-the methodology of the review that the writer used is the secondary
data’s from different sources of documents.
3. The Data analysis :-the writers used descriptive methods of data analysis for his
argument
4. The Result of review

The results of the review that the writer argue cited are varied – ranging from excessive natural
resource endowments (the so-called ‘resource curse’ thesis), pathological politics, the lack of
bureaucratic capabilities, and the changes in the global economic rules – but the implication is
that the African countries would be better off sticking to their natural resource advantages, rather
than trying to develop manufacturing industries through industrial policy the following are major
focus of the review.

4.1 Structural Impediments to Africa’s Growth – Climate, Geography, Culture, and

History
Before we go into factors that are more specifically related to the industrial policy, we need to
address a more general argument that Africa’s climate, geography, culture, and history
structurally condemn it to under-development (Easterly eta al.)

A) Climate

The developing nations those settled near the tropical area are suffering from fatal tropical
diseases that reduce their productivity and production also incur high cost for their health
care. However, many of today’s rich countries used to have malaria and other tropical
diseases but these diseases are not very much problem for development since they have good
sanitation. (Daniel Etounga-Manguelle, 2000)

B) Geography

In terms of geography, much has been made out of the landlocked status of many African
countries. Being landlocked influence Africa countries industrial policy to their development.
Whereas there countries with landlocked but developed in economy.

C) History

Ethnic diversity and colonization push African people to distrust each other and this loads to cost
market transactions while there are countries donate suffer ethnic heterogeneous due to the
reason that they have succeed in national development.

D) Culture

The working culture of African could not lead to development because they don’t work hard. As
well as have not cooperation but there where countries with similar problems with Africa but
now a days manage their problems and become developed.

4.2 Natural resource and Industrial Policy

Does natural resources abundance make industrial policy unnecessary for Africa?

In any case African countries need industrial policy because having abundant natural resources
doesn’t mean that a country developed but the industrial policy Africa need have to be depend on
the sustainability with the existing natural resources to create wealth.
Does natural resources abundance make industrial policy counterproductive for Africa?

The abundance of natural resources doesn’t make industrial policy counterproductive for Africa
the whole because all African countries are not rich in natural resources equally but it can happen
on the few natural resource abundance African countries.

4.3 Political economy: political leadership, state coherence and state-society relationship.

The political economy of most African countries impossible to make fertile ground for effective
implementation of industrial policy. Due to the reason that most the African countries are
suffering from monarchial political system which undermine economic rationality in fever of
monopoly economic political and leaders are Visionaries. Although it is typically assumed that
these political economy problems are uniquely serious in African countries. This assumption
lacks empirical foundations.

4.4 Bureaucratic capabilities: do not try this at home.

The argument of the policy is equivalent to “Don’t try this at home “whereas bureaucratic
capabilities may be enhanced (and quite quickly at home that) with appropriate investments
and learning- by- doing; so its poverty at this movement cannot be on excuse for not using
industrial policy ever.

4.5 Change in the rules of Global Economy:

Due to the change of global trade rules it’s argued industrial policy in not relwantany more
if it ever was developing countries including the over in Africa, the recommendation goes
not waste their time thinking about policies that cannot be used anyway. The WTO has
certainly made industrial policy more difficult to implement. However, the constraints
should not be exaggerated.

5. Conclusion:
The review of this paper has critically examined various arguments behind this skepticism
in relation to the African countries. After critically scrutinizing the more general arguments
espousing ‘Afro-pessimism’ on the bases of climate, geography, history, and culture, the
Even though the first three have become “actionable” since 2000, not a single case has been
brought to the dispute settlement mechanism since then, suggesting that there is an implicit
agreement that they are still acceptable.