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Globalization, Industrialization and Economic Catch-Up
Zheng Yu (郑宇)*
School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Abstract:Industrialization was an essential path to modernization for early industrialized nations. Since the 1990s, however, premature deindustrialization has swept across much of the developing world, where industry contributed less to job creation and economic growth. Will developing countries still have opportunity to achieve economic growth and catch-up through industrialization? This article contends that the traditional path of industrialization has become more elusive in the era of globalization but the changing global economy and technological progress create new opportunities for developing countries. In today’s interconnected world, China’s economic rise has great implications for other developing countries. This article finds that China’s emergence as the world’s workshop has helped rather than hurt industrial development in Africa through two-way trade, but its impact may differ across the African continent, Africa’s industrial path may not follow an export-oriented approach. Instead, Africa’s future sustainability depends on its adoption of a diversified industrial policy.
Keywords:globalization, industrialization, economic development, industrial policy,Africa
JEL Classification Codes: F43, O14
DOI: 10.19602/j.chinaeconomist.2020.11.03
