How I Became a Manufacturing Skeptic

Economics

May 12, 2026

Dani Rodrik

Manufacturing used to be a powerful economic escalator because it could employ large numbers of low-skilled workers while making limited demands on low-income countries’ governance and infrastructure. The good news is that services may be able to deliver the productivity growth necessary to support a robust middle class.

CAMBRIDGE—At a gathering of academics and policymakers at Harvard this month, a participant reminded me that I had published a column 15 years ago on “The Manufacturing Imperative.” As the title suggests, the piece emphasized the importance of industrialization in driving economic growth, creating good jobs, and building a middle class. “This is one of my all-time favorite articles,” the policymaker from Africa told the audience.