Making the Most of Commodities Programme

The Open University's repository of research publications and other research outputs " One thing leads to anothercommodities "-linkages and industrial development: a conceptual overview Other How to cite: (2011). " One thing leads to anothercommodities "-linkages and industrial development: a conceptual overview. OU. For guidance on citations see FAQs. Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online's data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. (The authors are grateful for considerable assistance provided by Masuma Farooki and Judith Fessehaie.) Like many other developing economy regions, Africa is benefitting from a sustained boom in commodities prices. Received wisdom has been that commodities production is an inherently enclave activity and that it undermines the viability of industry. The Making the Most of Commodities Programme challenges this negative view of the commodities sector. It " s research analyses the determinants of backward and forward linkages, identifying policy responses which will broaden and deepen them. In so doing it contributes both to achieving sustainable growth and the spreading of benefits to a wider population. By incorporating younger researchers, building a research network, and dialogue with policymakers, the MMCP also seeks to build analytical and policy capacity, and to influence policy outcomes. The MMCP focuses on a diverse range of commodity sectors in a number of African economies, as well as on key infrastructural determinants of effective linkage development. A number of common factors are identified which will increase linkages beneficially and which lend themselves to policy intervention-the role of ownership, the nature and quality of infrastructure, the national system of innovation, spillover of skills to and from the commodities sector, linkages in regional economies and the nature and consistency of policies directed towards the commodities sectors. The MMCP country/commodity Discussion Papers are: 1. " Linkages in Ghana " s Gold Mining Industry: Challenging the Enclave Thesis " , Gold Robin Bloch and George Owusu, 2. " Chinese Construction Companies in Angola: A Local Linkages Perspective " , Lucy Corkin 3. " Development and Knowledge Intensification in Industries Upstream of Zambia " s Copper Mining Sector " , Judith Fessehaie 4. " The drive to increase local procurement in the Mining Sector in Africa: Myth or reality? " , Chris Hanlin 5. Abstract Sub-Sahara African commodity exporting economies have benefitted greatly from the …