Industrial Price Policies And Economic Progress

The revival of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is all the more welcome for having followed one of the worst economic disasters—a quarter century of economic malaise for most of the region—since the industrial revolution. Six of the world's fastest-growing economies in the first decade of this century were African. Yet only in Ethiopia and Rwanda was growth not based on resources and the rising price of oil. Deindustrialization has yet to be reversed, and progress toward creating a modern economy remains limited. This book explores the vital role that active government policies can play in transforming African economies. Such policies pertain not just to industry. They traverse all economic sectors, including finance, information technology, and agriculture. These packages of learning, industrial, and technology (LIT) policies aim to bring vigorous and lasting growth to the region. This collection features case studies of LIT policies in action in many parts of the world, examining their risks and rewards and what they mean for Sub-Saharan Africa.

An understanding of price structures and their impact on trade, productivity, and other related factors will aid in formulation of price policies promoting economic growth and development. Price formulation issues are examined within the context of nonmarket and imperfect market conditions, providing insightful linking of exchange rates and domestic prices to a wide array of factors that determine economic growth. Different facets of primary commodity price formation are explored, arriving at such conclusions as the fact that the dramatic rise in oil prices during the 1970s had little to do with the Latin American debt crisis or with the world recession that followed. Some new techniques for analysis are used, and commonly used techniques in price comparison studies are discussed.

The essays included in this book are the proceedings of a conference held by the Centre for Industrial Relations at the University of Toronto, 1967. They have been divided into five sections: "Wage-Price-Profit Relations in Canada—The Problem in Perspective," "A Diagnosis of the Problem," "Foreign Experience," "The Government and Wage-Price-Profit Relations," and "A Policy for Canada." The essays included are by such eminent contributors as Dr. John Deutsch, Professor G.L. Reuber, Mr. David McQueen, Dr. Arthur M. Ross, and The Honourable Mitchell Sharp.