Learning by doing in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

There has been interest in the implications of learning by doing, and in particular in the possibility that learning by doing may be slower in less developed countries and in industries which use simpler technologies. This paper uses firm‐level data from Ghana to estimate learning‐by‐doing effects and generates three main findings. First, the learning curve, though present, is flatter in Ghana than in developed countries. Second, any industry‐wide spillovers are small and insignificant. Third, (contrary to the assumption of much theory) learning‐by‐doing effects are stronger at low levels of technology than at intermediate levels.

Warranting our Future: literacy and literacies

“…Often, in the cases of traditional businesses that successfully manage change and enhance their market orientation, value chains benefit from the effective combinations of informal learning and technology which can be significant at the very low levels of technology (Jones & Barr, ). Research offers evidence on how traditional industrial sectors — leather and shoe or apparel industries — rely mostly on non‐formal and informal learning processes to innovate and to build their competitive edge.…”