Abstract: The general objective of promoting exports and achieving rapid structural change and economic growth has been an integral part of development economics and policy-making for many decades. There has been a succession of different approaches and thinking with regard to how this objective can best be met, ranging from inward-looking or import substitution industrialization behind high protection, to outward-oriented or export orientation and promotion strategies considered to be part of the success story of East Asia. The range of instruments used for conducting industrial policy has also changed with the evolution of multilateral trading rules, as well as unilateral liberalization, the latter occurring within a framework of structural adjustment that is required in order to stay competitive and in some cases to access international finance. The combination of strategy and instruments used has been the subject of numerous studies, with mixed results on the value of interventions and their outcomes. There has also been a plethora of studies which show that industrialization behind protective walls has often extended beyond reasonable periods of "infancy"and has led to inefficiency and welfare losses, and entrenched vested interests. [English only]
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International Institute for Trade and Developement : UNCTAD Collection
