Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has presented an analytical report titled “The Architecture of Industrial Transformation in Developing Economies,” which proposes a three-stage model for developing countries to transition into the group of high-income states, the bank said in a statement.
The report is based on an analysis of the historical experience of industrialization, modern theories of industrial policy, as well as approaches used by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. According to the EDB, manufacturing has been associated with 64% of economic growth episodes over the past 50 years, while one industrial job supports an average of 2.2 additional jobs in related sectors.
According to the report, industry accounts for 53% of global research and development activity, while industrial companies hold almost 60% of the world’s green patents.
Currently, 108 economies with a combined population of around 6 billion people are classified as middle-income countries. Since 1990, only 34 economies have moved from this category into the high-income group, the report’s authors note.
The proposed architecture consists of three stages and is based on the World Bank’s logic of “investment — technological infusion — innovation.”
The first stage involves establishing basic production infrastructure, including energy, transport, water, industrial sites and professional skills. At the second stage, individual production facilities are integrated into an industrial platform, alongside the development of suppliers, engineering capabilities and project financing. The third stage adds applied research and development, pilot production lines and the commercialization of domestic technological solutions.
For the Eurasian region, the EDB identifies different areas of specialization. According to the bank, Russia and Belarus can develop complex equipment, components and engineering; Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can deepen processing in the chemical, metallurgical, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering sectors; while Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan can strengthen regional value chains through component and service production.
According to an earlier scenario-based EDB study, the development of four complexes — chemicals, mechanical engineering, higher-value-added metallurgy and food processing — could generate more than US$510 billion in additional annual output in 2019 prices through expanded exports, import substitution and indirect effects in related industries.
The report’s authors emphasize that industrial transformation requires the parallel development of physical and “soft” infrastructure, including standards, certification, metrology and engineering education. They also highlight the special role of multilateral development banks in preparing projects and mobilizing private capital.
