ABSTRACT
This is an examination of the formulation of trade policy and the role of the state, concentrating on the developmental state and infant industry protection as a developmental strategy that has been favoured in successful Asian economies and the not so successful countries of Latin America. The chapter analyses the differences between the application of import substitution industrialisation in the two regions and the reasons for the very different outcomes observed. The alternative strategy of Export-Oriented Industrialisation (EOI), favoured by the Washington consensus, is a development strategy, primarily concerning international trade, that aims to hasten the industrialisation process of a country through a focus on exporting those goods for which the nation has a comparative advantage. However, with underdeveloped economies dependent on primary products for their export earnings, any increase in primary product exports is limited by falling market demand. In addition, it is argued that the promotion of primary product exports is constrained also on the supply-side. An alternative approach is then explored in the form of the Industrialisation Strategy Approach to Export Policy. It also represents an outward-oriented strategy, however, it typically employs export-led growth whilst incorporating an active role for the state in having a direct influence on both the type and the sequencing of exports. Empirically much of the evidence suggests that periods of significant export expansion have been almost always preceded by periods of strong import substitution.
