Industrialization Lessons from BRICS: A Comparative Analysis

Arbeitspapier

To date there has been few systematic and comparative empirical analyses of the nature of economic development in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). We contribute to addressing this gap by exploring the patterns of structural change between 1980 and 2010, focusing on the manufacturing sector. We show that three of the BRICS are experiencing de-industrialization (Brazil, Russia and South Africa). China is the only country where an expanding manufacturing sector accounts for a significant part of aggregate growth. We explore the differences in patterns and causes of manufacturing between China and the other BRICS. These differences are down to differences in industrial policy: in China industrial policy supported both foreign and domestic investment for technological catch-up. It is the only country where FDI favoured the manufacturing sector and manufactured exports, and where domestic investment started becoming increasingly important compared to FDI from 1995 onward.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 7543

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Multinational Firms; International Business ; Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods ; Enterprise Policy ; Industrial Policy ; Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes ; Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
• Subject: foreign direct investment ; multinational enterprises ; industrialization ; technology ; innovation ; entrepreneurship ; Brazil ; Russia ; China ; India ; South Africa

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Naudé, Wim A. ; Szirmai, Adam ; Lavopa, Alejandro
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2013

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/80647
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET