This paper analyses the role of total factor productivity as a determinant of competitivity in Senegalese manufacturing industries. It is based upon a panel of ten industrial manufacturing groups and covers the period 1974-94. Following an estimation of the production function of manufacturing industry, the paper identifies the roles of public investment, protectionist measures, and the level of qualification of the workforce used by the different sectors in the evolution of industrial total factor productivity. Particular attention is given to external economies as a source of improved productivity and the role of public investment as a factor in favour of such gains. The results show major differences between Senegalese manufacturing industries as far as the growth of total factor productivity is concerned. Insufficient public investment in infrastructure and the high level of protectionism appear to plan an important role in the unfavourable evolution of productivity and ...