923N1: Discuss what are the trade-offs between innovation, structural change and inclusion: Innovations and Economic Development Essay, LSBU, UK

Choose 1 (one) of these topics for your essay. Details of deadline and time for submitting your essay are in your Canvas site for the module.

1. Please discuss what are the trade-offs between innovation, structural change and inclusion and how these affect the design of appropriate policies. To what extent can traditional industrial policies, and their emphasis on manufacturing, be applied to developing countries nowadays to foster structural change and inclusive outcomes? What might that involve in terms of policy instruments and what difficulties and obstacles are policy makers likely to face? The use of an example of a country/sector is encouraged.
2. It is being suggested that long-term growth is hampered by countries being heavily dependent on natural resources, for instance extractive industries or agriculture. Why might such dependence on natural resources be a problem? What does the recent literature suggest might be learnt from Latin America on how to avoid the problems related to natural resource dependence? What are the implications for energy transition?
3. It has been suggested in both academic and policy circles that joining a Global Value Chain would be beneficial in several respects for developmental and innovation purposes. For instance, it allows to enter global markets in specific industries and gain in terms of technological learning from ‘headquarters’ countries that offshore portions of the value chain. You are asked by UNCTAD to provide an exhaustive report on the possible gains and losses, for firms and countries, of joining a global value chain in a given sector, given the specificities of the developing country and the sector [of your choice: we suggest to focus on one country/sector].
4. Please illustrate the different waves and turning points of practices of industrial policy in historical terms, highlighting the different theories underpinning them. Illustrate a country and/or sector cases of industrial policy that has been development-friendly and possibly a case of policy that could have been framed and implemented differently for developmental purposes. Discuss the implications in terms of how industrial policy should be designed alongside innovation policy for inclusive and sustanable development.

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