Industrial Restructuring: Issues, Past Efforts and Problems

Abstract

The drive for industrial restructuring has now almost become a commonplace development strategy for most national economies, export-orientated or otherwise. In fact, there is nothing fundamentally new about this progression. It is a natural process associated with economic growth and change and can proceed with or without the involvement of government. But as pointed out by two World Bank economists (Sood and Kohli, 1985, p. 46):

What is new is the magnitude, suddenness, rapidity, and complexity of the industrial restructuring necessitated by a much changed global economic environment over the past decade. The intensified pressure for change and its economic and social implications have increasingly led governments of all economic persuasions to play a more active role in inducing and facilitating effective restructuring so that international competitiveness can be improved or regained.