A Manufacturing (Re)Naissance? Industrialization in the Developing World

Abstract

This paper examines industrialization in developing countries. It introduces the GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database, which provides consistent annual data of employment, real and nominal value added by 12 sectors in 51 economies for the period 1990–2018. Regressions that control for income and population indicate a manufacturing renaissance in several middle-income countries since the 2000s. We observe industrialization in many low-income Asian and sub-Saharan African countries. The industrial naissance in sub-Saharan Africa appears characterized by unregistered firms that expand employment.

Integration of African countries in regional and global value chains: Static and dynamic patterns

“…Regional export success prepares firms well for competition in high‐income countries in light manufacturing, but not in more sophisticated industries. This result is consistent with the finding that most manufacturing activities in sub‐Saharan Africa involve the production of basic manufactures to meet local and regional demand (Kruse et al, 2022). Local and regional markets serve as a stepping stone for exporting into more advanced markets.…”

Does Premature Deindustrialisation Stall Growth? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

“…The study consider data from ILO and UNSD, which depicts a premature deindustrialization trend in middle-income countries. In contrast, recent evidence by Kruse et al, (2022) using the Economic Transformation Database of GGDC/UNU-WIDER finds a reversal of the deindustrialization trend after 2000 in developing countries. In this regard, Kruse et al (2022) note that the deindustrialization trend in SSA is sensitive to the set of countries considered.…”

“…In contrast, recent evidence by Kruse et al, (2022) using the Economic Transformation Database of GGDC/UNU-WIDER finds a reversal of the deindustrialization trend after 2000 in developing countries. In this regard, Kruse et al (2022) note that the deindustrialization trend in SSA is sensitive to the set of countries considered. For instance, we consider an exclusive set of middle-income countries in SSA, whereas Kruse et al (2022) include a broader set of both low-and middle-income countries.…”

“…The study consider data from ILO and UNSD, which depicts a premature deindustrialization trend in middle-income countries. In contrast, recent evidence by Kruse et al, (2022)…”

“…In this regard, Kruse et al (2022) note that the deindustrialization trend in SSA is sensitive to the set of countries considered. For instance, we consider an exclusive set of middle-income countries in SSA, whereas Kruse et al (2022) include a broader set of both low-and middle-income countries. As noted earlier, several of these low-income countries may not yet gain peak manufacturing employment share.…”