Events
The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G-24) webinar on industrial policy : "World Bank and Industrial Policy for Development: What Does the Return of Industrial Policy Mean for EMDEs?
From
On June 29, 2026, Dr. Hinh T. Dinh, Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, participated as afeatured speaker in a webinar organized by the G-24 Secretariat titled "World Bank and Industrial Policy for Development: What Does the Return of Industrial Policy Mean for EMDEs?"
The webinar brought together experts to examine the renewed role of industrial policy in advancing structural transformation, productive diversification, and green and digital upgrading in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), as well as the role of international financial institutions in supporting country-led development strategies.
Dr. Dinh presented his paper, "Race Against the Clock: Industrial Policy for Resource-Rich African Least Developed Economies - Transforming Wealth into Productive Capacity." The paper argues that conventional approaches to managing natural-resource wealth have failed to deliver sustained structural transformation in Africa's resource-rich least developed countries. It proposes a shift from viewing resource revenues primarily as a stabilization tool toward using them as "transformation finance" to build lasting productive capacity before the economic value of natural resources declines due to the global energy transition and rapid technological change.
Drawing on comparative growth analysis across African economies, the paper demonstrates that successful development depends not only on investment levels but also on improving productivity. It advocates a rent-financed "Big Push" strategy centered on export-oriented industrialization, special economic zones, trade-enabling infrastructure, human capital development, and integration into regional and global value chains. The presentation contributed to the broader discussion on how industrial policy can support sustainable and inclusive economic transformation in developing countries.
