Manufacturing and Economic Development

Abstract

Since the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century manufacturing has been considered to be the main engine of economic growth and development. In development theory structural change was associated specifically with a shift of resources from the primary sector to the manufacturing sector. Recently, however, the role of the manufacturing sector has been increasingly questioned. It is clear that the advanced economies are now predominantly service economies. Economic historians increasingly recognize the importance of service sectors such as trade, transport, and financial intermediation which have contributed to industrialization and development. Finally, the recent experiences of India and other emerging economies raise the question whether services have become the key sector in economic development in the 21st century. This chapter contributes to this debate by examining some of the theoretical and empirical evidence for the proposition that manufacturing has acted as the main engine of growth in developing countries in the period 1950–2005.

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