Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/126325 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2015/035
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Recent research highlights the considerable potential of industrial policy to support structural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa. Given the importance of the state in industrial policy, this paper considers the implications for these discussions of recent work on state fragility. It argues that weaknesses in state capacity in the region can be expected to severely limit the likelihood of successful industrial policy in a number of countries - indeed, over a half of them, if we believe standard metrics. It concludes that more attention should be paid in work on industrial policy to the systematic study of weak state capacity and strategies to address the challenges it poses, including 'islands of excellence'.
Subjects: 
industrial policy
fragile states
weak states
state capacity
sub-Saharan Africa
structural transformation
JEL: 
L50
O25
O40
O57
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9230-920-6
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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