Brazil's automotive industry is unwell. Productivity and trade performance are low, consumer prices are high, local companies are bit players both at home and abroad, and innovation is almost nonexistent. The cumulative (opportunity) costs of Brazil's protectionist automotive policies, which...

The insertion of the South African automotive industry into the global mainstream of vehicle manufacturing highlights a number of valuable analytical lessons for developing country automotive economies. The global value chains that dominate the automotive industry have fostered substantial...

BARNES J. and KAPLINSKY R. (2000) Globalization and the death of the local firm? The automobile components sector in South Africa, Reg. Studies 34 , 797-812. As in the case of many developing countries, South African industry is facing a new competitive environment as trade barriers fall. This...

This article critically examines the rapid industrialisation and phenomenal growth of Richards Bay since the early 1960s. Detailed consideration is given to the nature of the development and the various factors that contributed to the unusual economic success of the locality. The article...

This paper assesses the implications for upgrading of integration into two distinct clothing value chains in Lesotho and Swaziland – the value chain characterised by Taiwanese investment and feeding into the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the value chain...

Most value chain analyses remain at an abstract level, underplaying political economy issues and the importance of local context. The paper analyses the manner in which global automotive forces (the dominance of the German assemblers and their multinational corporation first-tier suppliers)...