Cluster-based industrial development

About this book

In order to reduce widespread and persistent poverty, employment opportunities must be generated for the poor by developing labor-intensive industries. Based on a comparative study of eight industrial clusters in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, this book seeks an effective strategy to develop industrial clusters. The key to the success of cluster-based industrial development is found to be multi-faceted innovations of product quality, marketing, and enterprise management as well as learning from abroad. The authors use original enterprise data collected in Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Ethiopia, and identify similarities and differences in the development patterns between Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. By emphasizing the roles of traders and managerial human capital in generating innovations, the volume recommends training programs to facilitate the formation of managerial human capital, which plays a vital role in achieving such multi-faceted innovations. This book is essential reading for all interested in economic development and industrial policy.