- Published by
- Gatsby Africa & Growth Teams
This presentation argues that building state capabilities for industrial policy should be a higher priority in development programming. After framing economic transformation through country comparisons, it makes the case that effective industrial policy is necessary but rarely supported directly by donors.
A key contribution is a typology of five public institution types - logisticians, regulators, frontline providers, elite services and adaptive problem-solvers - each requiring distinct technical and organisational capabilities, mapped across a proposed framework covering strategy, structure, processes, people, performance and feedback.
Country cases from Ethiopia, Rwanda and Peru illustrate what enabled learning-by-doing and where external support fell short - particularly where embedded advisers acted as gap-fillers rather than capability builders.
The presentation closes with a critique of conventional technical assistance and a call for context-driven, adaptive support that works alongside government rather than substituting for it.