Industrial processing of natural resources

Industrial processing of natural resources has been receiving increasing attention in recent years, as a possible strategy on which to base industrial development in primary-product-exporting developing countries. This paper identifies some conceptual and statistical problems associated with the topic and suggests that some policy approaches have been derived from inaccurate theoretical reasoning. The paper attempts to provide a new theoretical approach to the topic and argues that a new research programme based on activity-by-activity case studies will have to be carried out in order to establish whether or not individual primary-product exporters have a competitive advantage in processing their natural resources.