Almost all developing countries have implemented major economic reforms over the past two decades, but there is no consensus either on how this impacts on manufacturing or on how policy could be adapted to support manufacturing. On the one hand there is a widely held view that protectionism is dead and trade liberalisation is the only direction. On the other hand there is an increasing perception that governments have a role in supporting manufacturing.This book considers the impact of economic reforms on manufacturing performance and explores policy options for promoting manufacturing. Using country-specific case studies spanning Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and Latin America, the authors examine the evidence for and against both trade liberalisation and government support policy.

Economic Policy and Manufacturing Performance in Developing Countries will prove an invaluable source of reference to all scholars of development economics and trade policy.