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Abstract
Can Africa ever hope to have comparative advantage in manufactured exports? This question, posed in the following chapter, becomes a theme that reverberates throughout this volume. The ongoing debate among economists about how to answer it and thus give guidance to policymakers pits two fundamental and opposing theoretical views against one another. This book not only discusses the debate, in which the authors duly take their positions, but also tries to break new ground in empirical tests that would support an answer of “Yes!” to the question. As will become evident, however, such an answer depends heavily on supportive policies, resolutely pursued. The final chapter, one of the two that pull together the various contributions in the book, reminds us that “… there is no free lunch”.
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