Jonathan Said

Immigrant supporting African governments and private sector to implement modern agro-industrial policies for job creation and inclusive and sustainable growth.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

In this podcast interview, I provide an optimistic take on African governments and their increasing interest to accelerate economic transformation & job creation.

I speak to where the challenge of implementation seems to lie & mention some success cases to build on.

[Terser Adamu @TerserAdamu]

Listen to the 56th episode of the Unlocking #Africa #Podcast with @JonathanSaid1

We discuss – Powering Prosperity. The Transformative Power of Industrial Policy in Africa

https://t.co/iGQNhR21dr

#IndustrialPolicy #industrialStrategy #Innovation #EconomicDevelopment

[Charlie Robertson @CharlieTTEcon]

Does Europe want better paid jobs in Morocco, paid for by China, creating more African demand for European goods?

Or do they want to see Moroccan labour move to Europe instead?

Europe has to decide

But if they want to see industrialisation in Africa, it will involve China

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@twittwoods @Mike_Amanpene You can argue though that every IP, whether the US's model, Germany's, Japan's, China's, Morocco's, India's is sui generis - that is the point. Each country must chart its own course.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

Comparative advantage as a non-economics term is fine here.

But as an economics term, it is not, because as opposed to a traded good you should not prioritise if you have a comparative disadvantage in, you must always have an industrial policy, whichever country you are.

[Financial Times @FT]

China’s comparative advantage is industrial policy https://t.co/d7F1uxPukE

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@twittwoods @Mike_Amanpene improvisation, adaptiveness (elements of reactivity) is an (often promoted) element of IP.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@twittwoods @Mike_Amanpene Not sure, as capital waste is not a policy - its an outcome. And we need to use IP properly, as we don't say 'don't use the term monetary policy' or 'fiscal policy'.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@twittwoods @Mike_Amanpene Signalling, aspirational objectives and choosing support intensity, including directed improvisation etc, is part of their industrial policy. It *is* their policy for how they want to develop their industries. Over capacity is the outcome of that.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@twittwoods @Mike_Amanpene This reads like industrial policy and “over capacity” is a product of it. Can you explain?

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

“But when was the last time Malawi had a serious national conversation about wealth creation?

About industrialization? About exports? About productivity? About building globally competitive industries? About creating value instead of attracting sympathy.”

[Jack McBrams @mcbrams]

Over decades, Malawi has received billions in aid, yet poverty persists. The harder question isn’t whether aid works, but who benefits from keeping poverty as an industry. Today, I dig into the uncomfortable economics of the 'poverty industrial complex.' https://t.co/n2ckl14kG9

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@Mike_Amanpene @twittwoods yeah let's the case

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

Recommended reading (free online) to understand how implementing change in governments in Africa has actually worked. It documents 100 cases of reform successes and failures in 6 African countries.

H/T we should not approach policy as one-off projects.

https://t.co/YbirbynnFh

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@Aphorismuser Step by step. It’s only been 20 years.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

Morocco is reaping the rewards of the “sustained modernisation of its productive system, diversification of its exports and the effective implementation of its industrial policy”.

[The Africa Report @TheAfricaReport]

How Morocco stole South Africa’s industrial crown https://t.co/87e9WmfitL

By @BilalMousjid and @LdeBassompierre

[Ro Khanna @RoKhanna]

The Democratic Party is unpopular because we had a party that supported the genocide in Gaza, foreign wars, the hollowing out of industrial towns, and we allowed wealth to be hoarded in the hands of the few.

[Ken Opalo @kopalo]

You can’t projectize industrial policy: https://t.co/HIluf72jpv

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@mb_policy @AfDB_Group What do you mean by institutional infrastructure here? And what do your acronyms mean?

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

With caveat this unfortunately is only about manufacturing (not other industries), this Africa Industrialisation Index by @AfDB_Group is a better tool for assessing Africa's industrialisation progress, rather than economists who only look at % share of manuf in GDP & employment.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@damilol90092229 Good query. I couldnt find in the report why DRC scored higher than Nigeria, as the scores for the underlying indicators are not provided. @AfDB_Group can you tell us which indicators pushed DRC & Senegal above Nigeria?

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@CCMarimba @_miller_mark I think they contribute, albeit not in a direct way but via a weaker exporting & value added economy in African countries (relative to otherwise), which in turn leads to challenges like excessive debt, forex shortages, tight budgets. But those are also caused by bad planning too.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

"For many lower-income countries the energy constraint is not capital but the capacity of the economy to absorb it: to earn the forex that the imported hardware & the obligations attached to it, will eventually have to be paid in." @_miller_mark

https://t.co/bij9Y3ylqV

[W. Gyude Moore @gyude_moore]

"Part of our concerns is that we were not part of how this was designed – we were neither consulted, engaged, or offered a say on implementation,”

“In today’s world, this matters a great deal..." @HananMorsy14

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

@damilol90092229 @AfDB_Group See the trend at the bottom of the table I posted. But you can see the sub indicators driving that if you look through the report itself.

[Jonathan Said @JonathanSaid1]

https://t.co/ZBssejf7NA