Sectorial specialisation in East Asia and Latin America compared

Abstract

East Asian countries have been successful at specialising in machinery and capital goods. Latin American countries, on the other hand, have retreated from these sectors, reinforcing their specialisation in resource-intensive goods. Institutional arrangements in place in both regions explain these divergences. In particular, the differences in the strategy and structure of leading firms, the nature of industrial promotion by the government, the development and support of small and medium-sized firms and the operation of foreign-owned firms may explain the respective success and failure in sectoral specialisation in machinery. Failure to develop these sectors may hinder the process of economic development.