The work argues that while export orientation (in the sense of providing neutral incentives between foreign and domestic markets) is desirable, the experience of successful industrialisers does not support the minimalist government role prescribed. On the contrary, the most successful industrialisers have been dynamic precisely because they intervened heavily in the process of building up technological capabilities. Their interventions were both “functional” and “selective”, though the extent and choice of intervention varied greatly.

JEL Codes: O14