Three decades of industrialization

Economists have long searched for patterns that relate successful development to structure and policy. This article reviews the experience of growth and industrialization in the postwar period in more than 100 economies, drawing on time-series data over a three-decade period. Economies are classified according to their population size, the share of primary or manufactured goods in their exports, and the weight of exports in gross domestic product (GDP). We examine the composition of demand, trade, output, manufacturing type, and factor use overall and between sectors as they relate to income growth. Higher income growth and more marked transformation are found among the groups with large populations, a predominance of manufactures in exports, and a larger role of exports. We also find that the patterns suggested by cross-country analysis are robust when tested using the time series data now available. Although development experiences may vary over time and across countries, there is sufficient uniformity within them for the main features of structural transformation to emerge as clear and consistent patterns of modern economic growth.Industrialization; patterns of development

A Comment

SUMMARY These comments on Professor Leys' article do not constitute a rejoinder in the ordinary sense of the term. They simply highlight certain aspects of the argument in RwG for those who have read Leys, but notthe book itself. RESUME Un commentaire Les commentaires sur I'article du professeur Leys ne constituent pas une réplique à vrai dire. Ils se contentent d'éclairer certains aspects de I'argument du RAC pour ceux qui ont lu Leys mais pas ce livre même. RESUMEN Un Comentario Estos comentarios sobre el artículo del Profesor Leys no constituyen una réplica en el sentido ordinario del término; simplemente destacan ciertos aspectos de la argumentación de RCC para aquellos que han leído a Leys, pero no el libro mismo

Three decades of industrialization

Economists have long searched for patterns that relate successful development to structure and policy. This article reviews the experience of growth and industrialization in the postwar period in more than 100 economies, drawing on time-series data over a three-decade period. Economies are classified according to their population size, the share of primary or manufactured goods in their exports, and the weight of exports in gross domestic product (GDP). We examine the composition of demand, trade, output, manufacturing type, and factor use overall and between sectors as they relate to income growth. Higher income growth and more marked transformation are found among the groups with large populations, a predominance of manufactures in exports, and a larger role of exports. We also find that the patterns suggested by cross-country analysis are robust when tested using the time series data now available. Although development experiences may vary over time and across countries, there is sufficient uniformity within them for the main features of structural transformation to emerge as clear and consistent patterns of modern economic growth

Misión de empleo. Informe final, julio 1986

Reedición del informe de la Misión de Empleo que convocó en 1985-1986 la administración del presidente Belisario Betancur. La Misión entendió su tarea como el análisis integral de todos los problemas que afectan a la población trabajadora del país y la elaboración de propuestas específicas para avanzar en los diferentes frentes. Sus labores se organizaron, así, en torno a tres grandes áreas. La primera de ellas incluyó el análisis del empleo, el desempleo y los ingresos laborales, y su relación con el ritmo de actividad económica y los fenómenos demográficos y sociales que afectan la oferta de mano de obra. La segunda incorporó todos los elementos del marco institucional en el cual operan las relaciones laborales: la seguridad social, el régimen laboral del sector privado y del sector público, el sindicalismo y el régimen de concertación. La tercera incluyó la proyección de la oferta de mano de obra hasta fines del siglo y un análisis detallado de las políticas económicas que pueden contribuir a cumplir ciertas metas en materia de empleo y desempleo en lo que resta del siglo. Las principales recomendaciones de la Misión se recogen en dos capítulos especiales en los cuales se presentan, respectivamente, una propuesta de reforma laboral y el diseño de una política macroeconómica que contribuya a mejorar la situación laboral, incluyendo consideraciones sobre el papel que pueden desempeñar dentro de este esquema algunas políticas especiales.Reprint of the report of the Employment Mission convened in 1985-1986 by the administration of President Belisario Betancur. The Mission understood its task as the comprehensive analysis of all the problems affecting the country's working population and the elaboration of specific proposals to advance on the different fronts. Its work was organized around three main areas. The first of these included the analysis of employment, unemployment and labor income, and their relationship with the pace of economic activity and the demographic and social phenomena affecting the labor supply. The second included all the elements of the institutional framework in which labor relations operate: social security, the private and public sector labor regime, trade unionism and the system of concertation. The third included the projection of labor supply until the end of the century and a detailed analysis of the economic policies that can contribute to meeting certain employment and unemployment goals for the remainder of the century. The Mission's main recommendations are contained in two special chapters which present, respectively, a proposal for labor reform and the design of a macroeconomic policy to help improve the labor situation, including considerations on the role that some special policies can play within this scheme