South Asia's turn : policies to boost competitiveness and create the next export powerhouse

South Asia's turn : policies to boost competitiveness and create the next export powerhouse / Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, Denis Medvedev, and Vincent Palmade, editors.

South Asia has a huge need to create more and better jobs for a growing population, especially in the manufacturing industries where it is underperforming as compared to East Asia. The report examines three critical and relatively understudied drivers of competitiveness: economies of agglomeration:...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Lopez Acevedo, Gladys (Editor), Medvedev, Denis (Editor), Palmade, Vincent (Editor)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, DC : World Bank Group, [2017]
Series:South Asia development matters.
Subjects:
Economic development > South Asia.
Foreign trade promotion > South Asia.
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS > Industries > General.
Commercial policy
Economic development
Economic history
Foreign trade promotion
South Asia > Economic conditions.
South Asia > Commercial policy.
South Asia
Online Access:Click for online access
Table of Contents:
  • Cover; Half Title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Overview; With some exceptions, South Asia has reaped few benefits from global integration; Productivity is the key to improved competitiveness; Business environment challenges remain a constraint on firm performance; Growth of the region's cities and clusters offers multiple opportunities to raise firm productivity; Increasing prominence of global value chains provides a pathway to greater efficiency; Improving firm capability and leveraging technology can substantially raise firm productivity.
  • Faster growth of exports and jobs is within reach if productivity improvesPolicies to boost competitiveness and productivity; Reference; Part 1 SOUTH ASIA'S COMPETITIVENESS CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY; 1 The Region's Competitiveness Potential Remains Largely Unrealized; Pockets of excellence are evidence of vast untapped potential; Difficulties in attracting investment and penetrating global markets; Little progress in diversifying the merchandise export basket; Elusive sophistication and low quality of exports; Annex 1A; Notes; References.
  • 2 Improving Competitiveness Requires Raising Productivity Rather Than Keeping Costs LowMacro challenge: Contribution of TFP to growth is low and declining; Sectoral challenge: Slow pace of structural transformation; Firm challenge: Firm growth is low and resources are trapped in small firms; Four case studies of important industries in South Asia; Annex 2A; Notes; References; Part 2 PRODUCTIVITY PERFORMANCE: FIRMS AND LINKAGES; 3 Business Environment Challenges Continue to Weigh on Firm Performance; Industry Case Study A: Industry-specific business environment issues in agribusiness; Note.
  • Industry Case Study C: The effect of trade barriers on the apparel sectorNotes; References; 6 Firm Capabilities Are Constrained; Firms lack managerial quality and do not use resources efficiently; Adoption of knowledge and technology is low; Innovation is widespread but novelty is limited; Returns to innovation are high; Annex 6A; Industry Case Study D: Protection from global good practices limits the spread of world-class firm capabilities in the automotive industry; Notes; References; Part 3 THE WAY FORWARD; 7. Potential for Increased Growth through Policy Reforms; 8. Need for Greater Emphasis on Trade Policies, Spatial Policies, and Firm Capabilities.

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