Manufacturing as the Key Engine of Economic Growth for Middle-Income Economies

Many poor countries become richer by focusing on manufacturing. However, as wages rise, the ability to compete solely on cost becomes harder, and global manufacturers tend to move factories to cheaper countries. The “middle-income trap,” in which a nation’s growth stalls, has plagued all but a handful of countries that have pursued industrialization as a route to growth. Should countries fight to keep manufacturing jobs or switch to promoting their service sectors? New evidence from academics Dan Su and Yang Yao of Peking University suggests that manufacturing is still crucial to economic development. getAbstract recommends their thoughtful argument to economists and policy makers.