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Productivity Reports of Ethiopia and Vietnam
(updated July 2022)
I have been working with two GRIPS PhD alumni to produce
national productivity reports in Ethiopia and Vietnam. Dr. Kidanemariam
Berhe Hailu is lead researcher at Policy Studies Institute (Addis Ababa)
and Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh is president of Viet
Nam Center for Economic and Strategic Studies (Hanoi). They both got
studied under my supervision.
Though the two countries are at different development stages and face
different problems, they both need analytical and reliable information
on productivity for policy making. To ensure high-quality research, I
advised their data collection and cleaning, labor productivity
decomposition, shift-share analysis, firm survey, etc. Interim results
were presented to high-level national audience as well as at the World Bank
headquarters, and received positive responses. The Ethiopian report was completed
in 2020 and the Vietnamese report was launched in April 2021.
Ethiopia
Productivity Report
Vietnam Productivity Report
Myanmar's industrial policy
(Nov. 2019)
We
visited Myanmar to study its industrial policy methods, especially
automotive and SEZ policies. Myanmar has poor infrastructure and current
policy capability is low, but it seriously listens to and accepts
foreign advice (including Japanese). Japanese car makers requested
restriction of used car imports, and Myanmar did it. They also
participated in drafting Myanmar's first automotive policy. As a result,
new car sales rose dramatically. Toyota is now building a new assembly
plant (photo) and Suzuki is expanding its existing plant. Even
though Myanmar's automotive sector is at an early stage of SKD (simple
assembly), it wants to go to CKD (assembly with welding & painting) and
component supplier development in the future. Myanmar also permitted
Japan to build and run Thilawa SEZ by Japanese standard in both hard
infrastructure and customer service. It is now fully occupied and
expanding.
Myanmar report
How Nations Learn
(Jun. 2019)
Kenichi Ohno and Arkebe Oqubay, an Ethiopian
minister at PM Office, published an edited volume, How Nations Learn:
Technology Learning, Industrial Policy and Catch-up (OUP, June 2019).
Renowned researchers examine key features of successful industrialization,
state's role in catch-up and innovation, and cases from Asia, Africa and
Latin America with particular emphasis on HOW policies are made and
executed, not just WHAT are done. This book is another offshoot from the
Ethiopia-Japan Industrial Policy Dialogue.
book website
Policy to attract automotive assembly
(Feb. 2019)
GDF interviewed Japanese auto makers, visited many developing countries
that produce cars, analyzed auto tariff structures globally, and
carefully compared the policies of Kenya and Ethiopia to come up with
pragmatic policy advice to invite global car giants to Ethiopia. The
results were reported to Ethiopian leaders and industrial officials, and
recommendations will be followed up with action. In Ethiopia, barriers
that need to be overcome are (i) foreign currency shortage; (ii)
incentive problems; (iIi) used car import; and (iv) small demand.
slides
Narrative of Ethiopia-Japan Policy Dialogue
(Feb. 2019)
Izumi
& Kenichi Ohno contributed a chapter to the recently released Oxford
Handbook of the Ethiopian Economy (OUP 2019). We explained how Ethiopia has learned from East Asia, especially Japan, and how GRIPS
and JICA have conducted bilateral industrial policy dialogue since 2008. The GRIPS Development
Forum has exchanged many policy issues with PM Meles (2008-12) and PM Hailemariam (2013-17). We
are re-establishing working relations with the new policy teams of PM Abiy Ahmed
who came to power in April 2018, to continue Japan's industrial
cooperation. book website
Productivity in Ethiopia and Vietnam
(Mar. 2018)
Ethiopia and Vietnam are two countries with which GRIPS
Development Forum (GDF) conduct intensive policy research & dialogue.
Despite their different level and pattern of development, both now focus
on productivity and GDF is deeply involved in it.
In both, GDF works very closely with the Japanese
embassy, JICA and policy research institutions. We work with high levels
(PM, PM Office, ministers) as well as relevant ministries and
implementing agencies. In Ethiopia, JICA-supported Kaizen programs are
now nationally owned and strongly expanding. In Vietnam, productivity
concern is widely talked about but real action is slower than in
Ethiopia.
We mobilize researchers who received PhD from GRIPS
under K. Ohno's supervision--Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh (director, Vietnam
Economic Policy Research, Vietnam National University; former PM advisory
member) and Dr. Kidanemariam Berhe Hailu (Lead Researcher, Policy Study
and Research Center under federal government). GDF is currently working
with them to produce a
policy-oriented Productivity Report in each country.
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