Title      
Technology-intensive suppliers in natural resource-based economies

Objectives     

• to investigate the growth constraints affecting natural resource-based economies and the opportunities to move towards knowledge-based ones,
• to characterise technology-intensive suppliers and their role in the industrialisation of natural resource-based economies,
• to analyse the integration of domestic technology-intensive suppliers in global resource-based value chains,
• to research about the factors which influence the development of t-suppliers based on natural resource-based industries,
• to analyse and to discuss different case studies from developing countries

Summary   
Although primary industries are important to developing countries, and particularly in Latin America, they have been largely unable to contribute to rapid growth. These industries induce premature de-industrialisation inhibiting the formation of a solid industrial base. Due to increased economic specialisation, natural resource-based economies will remain hosts for primary activities based on factor endowments. The worldwide increasing demand for natural resources means a challenge for these economies and an opportunity to spread industrialisation.

Natural resource-based industries are in general supplied by two groups of suppliers, labour-intensive and technology-intensive suppliers. The former supplies services based on low-skilled labour and undifferentiated goods. They are wholly dependent on one main (customer) industry. The second group is characterised by more skilled activities, such as manufacturers of specialised machinery and knowledge-intensive services.

The development of local technology-intensive suppliers contribute to both reinforcing the industrial base and supporting the competitiveness of the primary production, and therefore it may be a way to advance from natural resource-dependence towards knowledge-based activities and better economic performance. Indeed, the development of t-suppliers has been common in those natural resource-based economies which achieved a high level of development such as the case of Nordic countries, Canada and Australia.

This research topic attempts to find the factors which determine the development of t-suppliers in natural resource-based economies. It includes the investigation of diverse case studies such as the aquaculture and forest industry in Chile , and others natural resource-based chains in Mexico and Vietnam . The scope of the case studies includes firm-level, industry-level and country-level investigations.


Regions/Countries     
Chile, Vietnam, Honduras, Bangladesh, Colombia.

Funding     
DAAD, Chilean Government (AGCI)