Economic diversification entails a shift away from a single income source toward multiple income sources from an increasing spectrum of sectors and markets. A persistent concern for some Asian and African economies is their reliance on commodity exports and how they are exposed to the risk of export volatility and income instability. The Covid-19 pandemic and previous oil crashes have demonstrated the adverse impact on such economies. This book provides a systemic analysis of sustainable economic development through economic diversification.
The book analyzes diversification and development experiences from comparative perspectives of Asia and Africa. It also investigates determinants of export diversification differentiated by commodities-dependence versus manufactured products and looks at the roles of various institutions and governance of institutions in export diversification.
This book will provide policy insights into how different degrees of specialisation in exports across countries have affected outcomes in terms of living standards, economic growth and employment.
About the Author: Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka is currently Senior Special Adviser on Industrialization to the President, African Development Bank/Professorial Fellow UNU-MERIT. He served within the United Nations (UN) system for 20 years as Director, Regional Office for Africa, Chief Scientific Advisor, UN-HABITAT, and Director, Monitoring & Research Division. He was Senior Economic Adviser, UN Centre on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and is currently Visiting Professor at the United Nations University - MERIT, Netherlands and the Open University, UK. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering and Fellow of Nigerian Academy of Chemical Engineering. His publications include Resurgent Africa: Structural Transformation in Sustainable Development (Anthem Press, 2020); From Consumption to Production: the Why and Ways out of Failed Industrialization in Nigeria; Structural Transformation and Economic Development (Routledge, 2017).
Kaushalesh Lal is Professorial Fellow at United Nations University-MERIT, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Dr. Lal earned his PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Prior to joining United Nations University, Maastricht in 2003, Dr. Lal was with Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. He has published more than thirty articles in peer reviewed journals. His areas of research interest include Economics of Technical Change, ICT, Globalization and Technological Change, Industrialisation and Economic Development. Dr. Lal is on the panel of reviewers of several renowned international journals. Dr. Lal has several books published by renowned international publishers to his credit. His prominent books are: Knowledge Infrastructure and Higher Education in India, Routledge, 2020 (With Shampa Paul); Structural Transformation and Economic Development, Routledge, 2017 (With Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka); Servitization, IT-ization and Innovation Models (With Hitoshi Hirakawa, Naoko Shinkai and Norio Tokumaru), Routledge, 2013.
