Executive summary

Jobs do not fall like manna from heaven. They arise from the process of economic development and from the efforts of entrepreneurs and governments to generate new enterprises and economic activities. Sustained job creation requires structural change, that is, the ability of an economy to constantly generate new fast-growing activities characterized by higher value added and productivity as well as increasing returns to scale. Manufacturing offers greater opportunities than other sectors to accumulate capital, exploit economies of scale, acquire new technologies and – more fundamentally–foster embodied and disembodied technological change. It is thus the core of economic growth and structural transformation.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure