Date: 3 November 2021 | Time: 9:00 – 16:30 SAT
Hybrid event (online and in-person at UJ)
New global drivers of change — digitalisation, global value-chain consolidation and sustainability management — pose challenges and opportunities for structural transformation in developing countries. Drawing on our new book Structural Transformation in South Africa: The Challenges of Inclusive Industrial Development in a Middle-Income Country (published by Oxford University Press, open access online), the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) and the DSI/NRF South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARChI-ID), on behalf of the Industrial Development Think Tank (IDTT) at the University of Johannesburg, are excited to convene this symposium.
The broad evidence marshalled in the book shows that firms have struggled to build their productive capabilities, diversify their production activities and develop domestic linkages. Given this weakening industrial base, engagements with GVCs and the emerging technologies of the fourth industrial revolution have been limited and have generally not yet delivered the desired outcomes. New thinking based on detailed empirical analysis is necessary together with building supportive coalitions for agile policy-making.
The symposium will reflect on these issues, and consider what is needed for real structural transformation for sustained and sustainable prosperity, increased economic participation, and social and economic resilience. The symposium brings together international and local experts (including authors of book chapters and those who have endorsed the book), with policymakers from government and key institutions of industrial policy in South Africa.
All sessions will be hosted at UJ (Ubuntu Chambers [former Council Chambers]) and also online at:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdOiuqjsiHtGcRbtNzORFzYy-rkE5ZBwC. Please RSVP to Koketso Manyane-Dlangamandla (koketsom@uj.ac.za), indicating whether you will attend online or in person, by 28 October 2021.
Strict COVID-19 health protocols will be observed at the venue.
