The Need for a Coordinated Industrial Strategy to Boost Pakistani Exports: Lessons from Asia

Abstract

This paper focuses on a group of Asian countries that have successfully increased exports and found a common industrial strategy. Several key factors emerge from this study. First, countries that have managed to increase their exports focused on doing so in sectors in which they had expertise while slowly developing new export sectors at the same time. Second, high-growth Asian economies have developed their export sectors by making a significant move up the quality ladder and, in particular, moving away from low value-added to higher value-added exports. Third, there is no single economic policy that has worked across Asia; rather, successful exporters have used two or three policies in tandem to boost exports. Fourth, industrial policy has been coordinated with education and training policies to develop both the entrepreneurs and the workforce needed to produce high value-added exports. Finally, the only consistent factor that has an impact on high value-added export growth is domestic credit to the private sector. These results point to the urgent need for a coherent industrial strategy to boost Pakistan’s exports (preferably before future trade agreements are signed, which could otherwise damage potential export sectors).