How Nations Learn

How Nations Learn is a book based on big ideas. Why do some nations grow faster than others? How does the process of economic catch-up work? What does the technological learning of firms have in common with the policy lessons of governments? How do the answers to these questions vary across countries and regions of the world? The book provides answers to these queries from a distinguished interdisciplinary and international set of scholars, who draw on an impressive reservoir of both contemporary and historical experiences. How Nations Learn is an essential guide to how to navigate the key dilemmas of 21st century development, which should be particularly useful to latecomer countries and those grappling with the pitfalls of uneven development. * Gary Gereffi, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Global Value Chains Center at Duke University *
While debates on the best strategies for development have been protracted and contentious, there is widespread agreement on the salience of industrial policy and technological progress, but a paucity of studies on how this has been accomplished. The few books published have often been regionally or country based, limited in their scope of explanation, and analytically narrowed by their fealty to a single theoretical tradition. In contrast, this timely collection brings new critical insights into the dynamics of learning with a comparative analysis that is richly diverse in its geographic and theoretical focus, multidimensional in its level of analysis, and probing in its evaluation of how countries developed key capacities and transcended exigent historical barriers. A welcome addition to the literature that is highly recommended. * Howard Stein, Professor, Departments of Afroamerican and African Studies and Epidemiology, University of Michigan *
The limited capacity of developing countries to catch up the income level of developed countries has continued to be a major feature of international development over the past decades. Professors Oqubay and Ohno have been able to collect a fantastic set of papers on the crucial question of success and failure in achieving convergence: how technological learning takes place at the firm, sectorial, and national level, allowing countries to catch up, but also how failure to do leads to divergence. It considers the success stories of Meiji Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and most recently of China, but also the strong challenges faced in other regions, and notably in Latin America and Africa. A must read for academic and policymakers alike. * ."José Antonio Ocampo, Member of the Board of Banco de la República (Colombia´ s central bank), Chair of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy and Professor, Columbia University *
Industrialization has always been fundamental to sustained economic growth. It separates the world into high and low-income economies. To create inclusive prosperity, we urgently need to understand how nations learn. State-supported innovation is not only cardinal for catch-up, but also to abate climate breakdown (through crowding in new businesses, nurturing experimentation, and ensuring public benefits). By studying the economic history of technological advancement in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, this book makes a powerful case for industrial policy. * Dr Alice Evans, Lecturer in International Development, King's College London *
'Catch-up' economic development requires technological and policy learning. It increasingly requires unlearning as well. And will and discipline. The editors of How Nations Learn have assembled a stellar group of contributors to share what they have learnt about learning, across time periods and continents, spanning technological learning by companies and policy learning and capability building by states. A most valuable resource for anyone interested in historical lessons applied sensitively to contemporary development challenges. * D. Hugh Whittaker, Professor of the Japanese Economy and Business, University of Oxford *
The analysis of development and catching-up has finally shifted away from surrealproblems of 'optimal' market-driven allocation of resources, toward the processes of learning and capability accumulation. This is an important contribution in this perspective: And yet another nail into the coffin of the'Washington Consensus'. * Giovanni Dosi, Professor of Economics,Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy *
Arkebe Oqubay and Kenichi Ohno's important edited book is basically about learning to 'catch up'. It focuses on firm level technology learning and policymakers' learning, including learning by doing, emulation andexperimentation, involving innovation, and leapfrogging. The volume draws on historical, firm, industry, and country experiences to identify factors crucial to successful learning for catching-up, including latecomer advantages. The chapters suggest that the intensity, pace, 'direction' and context of learning matter, besides stressing the significance of robust industrial policies and long-term strategic vision. * Jomo Kwame Sundaram, retired Professor, UN Assistant Secretary General, 2008 Leontief Prize *
The chapters examine how industrial latecomers have crafted strategic and pragmatic policy frameworks to unleash the universal passion for learning into business organizational practices that drive production capability development and foster innovation dynamics. The transformational experiences described in the book offer a multitude of ways in which learning is organized and applied to advance a nation's productive structures and build competitive advantage in the global economy * Michael H Best, Professor Emeritus,Author of How Growth Really Happens: The Making of Economic Miracles through Production, Governance and Skills Winner of the 2018 Schumpeter Prize *