Tag: Industry

Building resilience

Are emerging economies already engaging with Industry 4.0 technologies?

By Michele Delera, UNU-MERIT, Carlo Pietrobelli, UNU-MERIT and University Roma Tre, and Elisa Calza and Alejandro Lavopa, UNIDO[1]

There are many controversies among economists but one fact is undisputed: long-run productivity growth depends on the absorption and deployment of new technologies. Some estimates indicate that differences in technology diffusion account for a quarter of cross-country differences in per capita income. In the midst of a new Industrial Revolution driven by artificial intelligence, machine-to-machine communication, cloud computing and additive manufacturing, countries’ capacity to catch-up will likely depend on the speed with which they absorb these technologies. The implications for emerging economies are profound. New technologies may undermine the viability of labour-intensive development. Yet they may also open up new ways for developing countries to integrate in the global economy.

Continue reading “Are emerging economies already engaging with Industry 4.0 technologies?”
Development Matters
Building resilience, Covid-19

COVID-19 pandemic: threats to SMEs in poorest nations require swift policy action

By Frank Hartwich and Jenny Larsen, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

Factories around the world roared into action again in the second half of 2020, following the COVID-19-related slump that brought large parts of industrial production to a standstill in early 2020. The bounce back, led by Europe, China and other parts of Asia, has been faster than expected, with most of the losses felt in the first half of 2020 recovered by early 2021, although there are big differences between regions and sectors.

Continue reading “COVID-19 pandemic: threats to SMEs in poorest nations require swift policy action”
Development Matters
Reviving multilateralism, Trade

Reforming industrial subsidies usage through the WTO: process proposals

By Professor Peter Draper, Executive Director and Dr Naoise McDonagh, Lecturer, Institute for International Trade, The University of Adelaide

The distorting effects of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and industrial subsidies on global market competition has become a topic of increasing importance for many World Trade Organization (WTO) members in recent years. There is growing pressure from key actors for WTO reform. The U.S., EU and Japan have jointly outlined a reform agenda for the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM)1 , focusing on market distorting effects of state capitalism. China has offered a different reform agenda that seeks greater recognition of the role of subsidies in pursuing legitimate social and development goals, as outlined in a recent WTO communication. Subsidy usage is therefore a key development issue.

Continue reading “Reforming industrial subsidies usage through the WTO: process proposals”
Development Matters
Building resilience, Green transition, Natural Resources, Policy

We now have a Paris Agreement rulebook, where do we go from here? Insights on environmental policies from randomised impact evaluations

By Iqbal Dhaliwal, Executive Director, and Rebecca Toole, Senior Policy Associate, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)

 

gas-pollutionAt the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2018 (COP24), parties agreed to a rulebook that lays out how governments will measure, report and verify emissions under the Paris Agreement. Now countries need to act — and know whether policies and programmes are meeting their climate goals.

Thanks to innovations in research design, improvements in measurement technology and an increasing political will to know what works, more opportunities to rigorously evaluate and learn from real-world environment and energy policies exist than many might think.

Take, for example, our work at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to ensure that policy is informed by scientific evidence. J-PAL is anchored by a network of 171 affiliated professors at more than 50 universities who conduct randomised impact evaluations to answer critical questions in social policy. Our Environment & Energy sector measures the real-world impacts of environmental and energy policies on everything from pollution reduction to climate change mitigation and resilience.

Continue reading “We now have a Paris Agreement rulebook, where do we go from here? Insights on environmental policies from randomised impact evaluations”

Development Matters
Africa, Building resilience, Human Development

Business incubation needs a re-think

By Allon Raiz, Chief Executive Officer, Raizcorp

Explore this topic further with the launch of the
2017 African Economic Outlook: Entrepreneurship and Industrialisation in Africa.

A little more than 12 years ago I read an article about 981 “entrepreneurs” who had been through a brief new venture creation programme. According to the journalist’s investigation, not one of these would-be entrepreneurs who had been in that programme was in existence a year later. The journalist lamented that despite the obvious evidence that these high volume, low quality programmes were ineffectual, they were nevertheless prolific, wasting hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

Continue reading “Business incubation needs a re-think”
Development Matters
Building resilience, Latin America and the Caribbean, Policy

Industrial Policy: Not a bad word

By Annalisa Primi, Senior Economist and Head of the Policy Dialogue Initiative on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development at the OECD Development Centre

Today, economic transformation is a concern in OECD and non-OECD countries alike. The Action Plan for Accelerated Industrial Development in Africa, included inAgenda 2063 or the Africa Union’s vision for the continent’s development, states that:”No country or region in the world has achieved prosperity and a decent socio-economic life for its citizens without the development of a robust industrial sector.” Similarly, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean has long called for diversifying production and promoting innovation to achieve higher equality in the region. Chile, an OECD country, is aiming at raising productivity by promoting the creation of domestic innovative enterprises. The national corporation for industrial development (CORFO) is investing in improving technology transfers, start-ups and social innovation. Continue reading “Industrial Policy: Not a bad word”

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