Issue

Vol. 48 No. 2 (2023): Africa Development: Special Issue on Covid-19 Pandemic and African Economies (Including a Revised Text of the Second Thandika Mkandawire Annual Memorial Lecture)

1 - Can Africa Run? Industrialisation and Development in Africa

https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v48i2.5078
Fiona Tregenna
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5584-5842

Corresponding Author(s) : Fiona Tregenna

ftregenna@uj.ac.za

Africa Development, Vol. 48 No. 2 (2023): Africa Development: Special Issue on Covid-19 Pandemic and African Economies (Including a Revised Text of the Second Thandika Mkandawire Annual Memorial Lecture)

Abstract

Africa remains the least industrialised region in the world. Yet industrialisation is critical for growth and catching up, as well as for development more broadly. This article begins by discussing industrialisation in Africa through the lens of Thandika Mkandawire’s writings on the subject, within the context of his broader thinking on development. In particular, it reflects on his perspectives on structural change and industrialisation; the phases of industrialisation and deindustrialisation in Africa; the political economy of industrialisation in Africa; social policy and industrialisation; and trade and regional integration. The author provides an analysis of some key issues pertaining to industrial development and policy in Africa and argues that the weaknesses of industrialisation in Africa, and the periodic reversals through premature deindustrialisation, have not only hampered economic growth and development, but have also influenced the political economy of African countries, with wider social and political effects. Similarly, state capacity for industrial policy is built through ‘learning by doing’ in the actual practice of industrial policy. Amongst the key topical issues discussed in the article for industrialisation in Africa are upgrading and technological progress, regional integration, and the greening of industrialisation. A vision is put forward for ‘Transformative Industrialisation for Africa’ (TIfA). 

Keywords

development industrialisation deindustrialisation industrial policy political economy Africa Thandika Mkandawire
[1]
Fiona Tregenna 2023. 1 - Can Africa Run? Industrialisation and Development in Africa. Africa Development. 48, 2 (Aug. 2023). DOI:https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v48i2.5078.
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Adesina, J.O., 2011, ‘Beyond the social protection paradigm: social policy in Africa’s development’, Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d’études du développement, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 454–470.
  2. Andreoni, A., 2014, ‘Structural learning: Embedding discoveries and the dynamics of production’, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Vol. 29, pp. 58–74.
  3. Andreoni, A. and Tregenna, F., 2020 ‘Escaping the Middle-income Technology Trap: A Comparative Analysis of Industrial Policies in China, Brazil and South Africa’, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Vol. 54, pp. 324–340.
  4. Andreoni, A., Mondliwa, P., Roberts, S. and Tregenna, F., 2021a, ‘Framing Structural Transformation in South Africa and Beyond’, in A. Andreoni, P. Mondliwa, S. Roberts, and F. Tregenna, eds., Structural Transformation in South Africa: The Challenges of Inclusive Industrial Development in a Middle-Income Country, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1–27.
  5. Andreoni, A., Mondliwa, P., Roberts, S. and Tregenna, F., 2021b, ‘Towards a New Industrial Policy for Structural Transformation’, in A. Andreoni, P. Mondliwa, S. Roberts, and F. Tregenna, eds., Structural Transformation in South Africa: The Challenges of Inclusive Industrial Development in a Middle-Income Country, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 337–361.
  6. Ashman, S., Newman, S. and Tregenna, F., 2020, ‘Radical Perspectives on Industrial Policy’, in J.-J. Chang, C. Cramer, R. Kozul-Wright, and A. Oqubay, eds., The Ox- ford Handbook of Industrial Policy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 178–204.
  7. Avenyo, E., Tregenna, F. and Kraemer-Mbula, E., 2021a, ‘Do Productive Capabilities Affect Export Performance? Evidence from African Firms’, European Journal of Development Research, Vol. 33, pp. 304–329.
  8. Avenyo, E., Tregenna, F. and Ngwadleka, K., 2021b, “‘Learning to Export’ and ‘Learning to Innovate’: Revisiting the Relationship between Innovation and Exports in African Firms”’, ERSA Working Paper No. 861, Cape Town: Economic Research Southern Africa.
  9. Avenyo, E. and Tregenna, F., 2022, ‘Greening manufacturing: Technology inten- sity and carbon dioxide emissions in developing countries’, Applied Energy, Vol. 324, 119726.
  10. Bangura, Y., 2007, Democracy and social policy, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  11. Bangura, Y., 2020, Development-driven, Iconoclastic, Witty and Informal: Thinking about Thandika Mkandawire (1940–2020), International Development Econo- mics Associates. (https://www.networkideas.org/obituary/2020/04/development-driven-iconoclastic-witty-informal/). 31 March 2023.
  12. Blankenburg, S., Palma, G. and Tregenna, F., 2008, ‘Structuralism’ in L. Blume and S. Durlauf ’, eds., The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, 2nd ed., Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 69–74.
  13. Chenery, H., 1955, ‘The Role of Industrialisation in Development Programs’, The American Economic Review, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 40–57.
  14. Cheru, F., 2022, ‘On Resuscitating the Aborted National Project: A Retrospective and Prospective View (Notes from my Last Conversation with Thandika Mkan- dawire)’, Africa Development, Vol. XLVII, No. 2, pp. 1–14.
  15. Chitonge, H., 2019, Industrializing Africa: Unlocking the Continent’s Economic Potential, New York/London: Peter Lang Press.
  16. CODESRIA Bulletin, 2020, Special Issue: Tributes to Thandika Mkandawire (1940–2020), CODESRIA Bulletin, Numbers 2&3, pp. 1–84.
  17. Cramer, C. and Tregenna, F., 2020, ‘Heterodox Approaches to Industrial Policy and the Implications for Industrial Hubs’ in J.Y. Lin and A. Oqubay, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Hubs and Economic Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 40–63.
  18. Figueiredo, P.N., 2001, Technological learning and competitive performance, Chel- tenham: Edward Elgar.
  19. Furtado, C., 1964, Development and Underdevelopment: A Structural View of the Problems of Developed and Underdeveloped Countries, Berkeley: University of California Press. Gerschenkron, A., 1962, Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
  20. Gumede, V., ed., 2022, ‘Rethinking African Development in the 21st Century’, Journal of African Transformation, Vol. 7, No. 1 – Special edition in honour of Thandika Mkandawire.
  21. Hirschman, A., 1958, The Strategy of Economic Development, New Haven: Yale University Press.
  22. Humphreys, M., 2005, ‘Natural Resources, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution: Uncove- ring the Mechanisms’, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 508–537.
  23. Ismail, F., 2021, The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Developmental Regionalism: A Handbook, Pretoria: Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies.
  24. Jalilian, H. and Weiss, J., 2000, ‘De-industrialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Myth or Crisis?’, Journal of African Economies, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 24–43.
  25. Lee, K., 2019, The Art of Economic Catch-Up: Barriers, Detours and Leapfrogging in Innovation Systems, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  26. Lopes, C. and Kararach, G., 2020, Structural Change in Africa: Misperceptions, New Narratives and Development in the 21st Century, Abingdon: Routledge.
  27. Meagher, K., 2019, ‘Reflections of an Engaged Economist: An Interview with Than- dika Mkandawire’, Development and Change, Vol. 50, pp. 511–541.
  28. Meagher, K., 2001, ‘Throwing out the baby to keep the bathwater: Informal Cross- Border Trade and Regional Integration in West Africa’. in Regionalism and Regional Integration in Africa: A Debate of Current Aspects and Issues, Discussion Paper 11, Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala, pp. 40–54.
  29. Mildner, S.A., Lauster, G. and Wodni, W., 2011, ‘Scarcity and abundance revisited: A literature review on natural resources and conflict’, International Journal of Conflict and Violence, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 155–172.
  30. Mkandawire, T., 1984, ‘Book Reviews: Export-Led Industrialization and Develop- ment by Eddy Lee; The New International Division of Labour by F. Frobel, J. Heinrichs, O. Kreye’, Africa Development/Afrique et Développement, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 144–148.
  31. Mkandawire, T., 1988, ‘The Road to Crisis, Adjustment and De-Industrialisation: The African Case’, Africa Development/Afrique et Développement, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 5–31.
  32. Mkandawire, T., 1999a, ‘Globalization and Africa’s Unfinished Agenda’, Macalester International, Vol. 7, pp. 71–107.
  33. Mkandawire, T., 1999b, ‘Crisis management and the making of “choiceless democ- racies” in Africa’, in Richard Joseph, ed., The State, Conflict and Democracy in Africa, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
  34. Mkandawire, T., 2001a, ‘Thinking about the developmental states in Africa’. Cam- bridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 25, No.3., pp. 289–313.
  35. Mkandawire, T., 2001b, Social policy in a development context, Social Policy and De- velopment Programme Paper No. 7, Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
  36. Mkandawire, T., 2005a, ‘Maladjusted African Economies and Globalisation’, Africa Development/Afrique et Développement, Vol. 30, No. 1/2, pp. 1–33.
  37. Mkandawire, T., 2005b, Targeting and Universalism in Poverty Reduction, Social Policy and Development Programme Paper No. 23, Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
  38. Mkandawire, T., 2007, ‘Transformative Social Policy and Innovation in Developing Countries’, The European Journal of Development Research, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 13–29.
  39. Mkandawire, T., 2011, ‘Running While Others Walk: Knowledge and the Challenge of Africa’s Development’, Africa Development, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 1–36.
  40. Mkandawire, T., 2015, ‘Neopatrimonialism and the Political Economy of Economic Performance in Africa’, World Politics, Vol. 67, No. 3, pp. 563–612.
  41. Mkandawire, T. and Soludo, C.C., 1998, Our Continent, Our Future: African Perspectives on Structural Adjustment, Dakar/Trenton, NJ: CODESRIA/African World Publications.
  42. Ncube, P. and Tregenna, F., 2022, ‘Input-output Linkages and Inter-country Interdependence among SADC Countries’, Development Southern Africa, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 1021–1035.
  43. Nillesen, E. and Bulte, E., 2014, ‘Natural Resources and Violent Conflict’, Annual Review of Resource Economics, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 69–83.
  44. Noman, A. and Stiglitz, J.E., eds., 2015, Industrial Policy and Economic Transformation in Africa, New York: Columbia University Press.
  45. Noorbakhsh, F. and Paloni, A., 1999, ‘Structural Adjustment Programs and Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa: Restructuring or De-Industrialization?’, Journal of Deve- loping Areas, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 549–580.
  46. Ocampo, J.A., 2020, ‘Industrial Policy, Macroeconomics, and Structural Change’, in J.-J. Chang, C. Cramer, R. Kozul-Wright, and A. Oqubay, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Policy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 266–283.
  47. Oqubay, A., 2015, Made in Africa: Industrial Policy in Ethiopia, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  48. Organisation of African Unity (OAU), 1980, Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa, 1980–2000, Addis Ababa: OAU.
  49. Owusu, S., 2021, ‘Powering Structural Transformation and Economic Develop- ment in Africa: The Role of Services, Manufacturing and Global Value Chains’, unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Maastricht University. (https://doi.org/10.26481/dis.20211012so). 31 March 2023.
  50. Paus, E., Robinson, M., and Tregenna, F., 2022, ‘Firm Innovation in Africa and Latin America: Heterogeneity and Country Context’, Industrial and Corporate Change, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 338–357.
  51. Prebisch, R., 1950, ‘The Economic Development of Latin America and its Principal Problems’, Economic Bulletin for Latin America, No. 7, New York: United Nations Department of Economic Affairs.
  52. Prebisch, R., 1963, Towards a Dynamic Development Policy for Latin America, New York: United Nations.
  53. Stein, H., 1992, ‘Deindustrialization, Adjustment, the World Bank and the IMF in Africa’, World Development, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 83–95.
  54. Tregenna, F., 2008, ‘The contributions of manufacturing and of services to employ- ment creation and growth in South Africa’, South African Journal of Economics, Vol. 76(s2), pp. 175–204.
  55. Tregenna, F., 2009, ‘Characterising Deindustrialisation: An Analysis of Changes in Manufacturing Employment and Output Internationally’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 433–466.
  56. Tregenna, F., 2015, Deindustrialisation, Structural Change and Sustainable Economic Growth, UNIDO Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development Working Paper Series, WP02/2015, Vienna: United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
  57. Tregenna, F., 2016, ‘Deindustrialisation: An Issue for both Developed and Developing Countries’, in J. Weiss and M. Tribe, eds., The Routledge Handbook on Industry and Development, London: Routledge.
  58. Tregenna, F., 2017, ‘Deindustrialisation and Premature Deindustrialisation’, in J. Ghosh, R. Kattel, and E. Reinert, eds., Elgar Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Development, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
  59. Whitfield, L., Therkildsen, O., Buur, L. and Kjær, A., 2015, The Politics of African Industrial Policy: A Comparative Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  60. World Bank, 2022, World Development Indicators, Washington, DC: World Bank
Read More

Author Biography

Fiona Tregenna

Professor, South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Industrial Development, University of Johannesburg.

Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 122 Download : 61

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.