WIDER Annual Lecture 15 - New Structural Economics

Like their forerunners, China and India have exploited their low-wage advantage to power labour-intensive manufacturing and service industries and accelerate growth. While wages rise in the ‘Asian dragons’, what can poorer country governments do to catch up?

In the new structural economics and the growth identification and facilitation, I will present a framework that can guide governments of poorer countries on how to foster new industries which reflect its latent comparative advantage. A forthcoming World Bank report, African Competitiveness in Light Manufacturing Industries, shows how African governments can jump start the manufacturing sector, but the results apply to other poor countries keen to industrialize and catch up.' 

Justin Yifu Lin is Councilor of the State Council and Honorary Dean of the National School of Development at Peking University. He is also a member of the Standing Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultation Conference and Vice Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. He was the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, 2008-2012. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr Lin served for 15 years as Founding Director and Professor of the China Centre for Economic Research (CCER) at Peking University and is the author of 24 books including Against the Consensus: Reflections on the Great Recession, The Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Economies Can Take Off, New Structural Economics: A Framework for Rethinking Development and Policy, Demystifying the Chinese Economy, Benti and Changwu: Dialogues on Methodology in Economics, and Economic Development and Transition: Thought, Strategy, and Viability.