Made in Africa Industrial Policy in Ethiopia

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Made in Africa presents the findings of original field research into the design, practice, and varied outcomes of industrial policy in the cement, leather and leather products, and floriculture sectors in Ethiopia. It explores how and why the outcomes of industrial policy are shaped by particular factors in these industries. It also examines industrial structures and associated global value chains to demonstrate the challenges faced by African firms in international markets. The findings are discussed against the backdrop of 'industrial policy', which has recently found renewed favour among economists and international organizations, and of the history of thought about and practice in industrialization. The book seeks to learn from the failures and successes in the three sectors, all of them functioning under the umbrella of a single industrial strategy. It argues that an effective industrial policy requires a more interventionist state than most development economists would accept, including those recently claiming to champion a 'new industrial policy'. Moreover, it argues that success lies in the interactions among policy, specific industrial structures, and institutions. Specifically, a successful policy, he posits should maximize linkage effects, but will founder in the absence of a clear understanding of the political economy of each sector.

1 - Introduction to Industrial Policy in Ethiopia
2 - Climbing without Ladders: Industrial Policy and Development
3 - Setting the Scene: Ethiopia's Industrial Policies and Performance
4 - Cementing Development? Uneven Development in an Import-Substitution Industry
5 - Beyond Bloom and Bust? Development and Challenges in Floriculture
6 - Curing an underperformer? Leather and Leather Products
7 - Failing Better: Political Economy and Industrial Policy in Ethiopia
8 - Lessons from Industrial Policy in Twenty-First Century Africa

Arkebe Oqubay is a Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and has been at the centre of policymaking for over twenty-five years. He is a research associate at the Centre of African Studies in the University of London, and holds a PhD in development studies from SOAS, University of London. He is the former mayor of Addis Ababa and winner of the ABN Best African Mayor of 2006, and finalist for the World Mayor Award 2006. He is a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star and serves as board chair of several leading public organizations and international advisory boards. His work includes Made in Africa: Industrial Policy in Ethiopia (OUP, 2015); African Economic Development: Evidence, Theory, and Policy (OUP, 2019); and China-Africa and an Economic Transformation (2019, OUP). He was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2016, and a 'leading thinker on Africa's strategic development' by the New African.