Can developing countries use industrialization, as the East Asian economies did, to try to catch up with the high-income countries? Structural Change, Fundamentals, and Growth says the answer is likely to be “no.” Rather, they will need to chart a new path to economic convergence that relies less on moving from low-productivity agriculture to higher-productivity manufacturing, and more on investing in health, education, and institutions—although the process will take longer this way.
McMillan, Margaret S., ed.; Rodrik, Dani, ed.; and Sepúlveda, Claudia, ed. 2017. Structural change, fundamentals, and growth: A framework and case studies: Synopsis. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institue (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896299788