Improving competitiveness in manufacturing industries

This chapter begins with a discussion of the important role of the manufacturing sector and estimates productivity growth rates in several key manufacturing industries in selected middle-income countries. The second section looks at ways to foster a more competitive business environment that could boost manufacturing productivity in middle-income countries. The chapter then moves on to look at targeted policies to improve competitiveness at the firm level. The final section of the chapter addresses energy and carbon efficiency as additional dimensions of competitiveness not always internalised by firms. This chapter uses multiple measures of competitiveness to better describe how firms perform.