AN EVALUATION OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY PERSPECTIVES IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT

March 2002

Discussion Document Prepared for the Trade and Industry Chamber of the National Economic, Development and Labour Council ¹

Sociology of Work Unit: University of the Witwatersrand in association with the NEDLAC Research Department
This report is divided into four sections:

1. The background and history of industrial strategy and industrial policy formulation in general;
2. An overview of the history of industrial policy formulation in South Africa, focussing specifically on the 1990s and the early 2000s;
3. A discussion of relevant dynamics in three countries - Malaysia, Mauritius and Ireland;
4. Comments on the inputs of government, business and labour;
5. Recommendations based on our reading of new trends in industrial policy formulation and shortcomings in the current process.

_____________________

Footnote

1. This report has been written by Andries Bezuidenhout. The author would like to thank Simon Roberts and Rahmat Omar for their assistance. He would also like to thank Teddy Brett, Eddie Webster and Devan Pillay for the useful comments on an earlier draft.