The Impacts of Industrial Policies on the Manufacturing Sector in Nigeria: An Assessment

Abstract

Industrialization is seen by everybody as a child of necessity in a nation’s economy as it accelerates the process of economic growth and development stupendously.  This makes industrial sector very important such that its neglect by any government makes it unsuccessful. This is why the fortune of every economy lays in itself the strength of the industrial sector, which makes it the heartbeat of economic development. Put differently, the main rationale of industrial policy is to accelerate the pace of industrial development by radically increasing value added at the value-chain. Two positions emerged regarding the status of the Nigeria’s industrial sector. The first position held that Nigeria has not been able to make an appreciable progress in industrial development due to policy failure. Different governments since independence have tried different approaches but have failed. From import-substitution industrial policy of the 1960s to the Small and Medium Industries Investment Scheme (SMIEIS 2000) have not repositioned the sector. The opposite position looked at the sector as recommendable.  It is on this basis looking at the importance of industrial policy to development with the note on the divergent views that this article seeks to assess the impacts of industrial policies on the manufacturing sector and how this has a reflection on GDP and development of the country.  The work being exploratory in nature fashions a methodology that data collections will basically from the secondary sources after which it will be analysed base on the level of poverty and GDP in Nigeria.

KEY WORDS: Industrial; Policies; Manufacturing Sector; Economic Development; and Economic Growth.