Import Liberalization and Industrial Performance: The Conceptual Underpinnings

Sanjaya Lall and Wolfram Latsch

Development and Change, 1998, vol. 29, issue 3, 437-465

Abstract: Import liberalization is a centrepiece of conventional approaches to policy reform and structural adjustment. Despite substantial criticism of the effects of liberalization, the underlying economic reasoning is widely accepted. This article examines the ways in which different schools of thought analyse the effect of ‘opening up’ the economy on industrial development, and contrasts neoclassical and evolutionary approaches. Different conceptualizations of ‘market failure’ emerge as the focal point for differences in discussing the role and scope of government intervention, with a convergence between the information‐economics and firm‐level evolutionary approaches (particularly the ‘technological capabilities’ approach). The empirical literature and its interpretation by different schools are reviewed, demonstrating how policy recommendations are strongly affected by the particular theory that informs the analysis of market failure and efficiency. It is concluded that empirically oriented micro‐level approaches are the most promising in guiding policy decisions.

Date: 1998
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7660.00085

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:devchg:v:29:y:1998:i:3:p:437-465

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0012-155X

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Development and Change from International Institute of Social Studies
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().