STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT AND AFRICAN INDUSTRY

A recent World Bank study comes to optimistic conclusions about the im pact of adjustment on African industry and exports. This paper questio ns both the underlying approach and the empirical evidence. The analys is on which adjustment programs are based ignores market failures in t he process of developing competitive capabilities. The data do not est ablish that adjustment benefited industry. The experience of Ghana, th e strongest adjuster in Africa, shows a spurt followed by relative sta gnation and little manufactured export diversification. Accepting the desirability of openness and policy reform, the policy needs that emer ge are very different from those of Bank adjustment programs.