Despite their crucial importance, not much is known about these issues in the SSA manufacturing sector. The study utilizes primary data from two surveys of manufacturing firms in each of three representative countries, Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, all countries currently undergoing extensive structural reforms. As a group, these countries span the diversity of per capita incomes and industrial development patterns of the Africa region. The study undertakes a comprehensive analysis of technological capabilities and manufacturing productivity in these countries, focusing on a number of broad issues related to the patterns and determinants of manufacturing productivity, the levels of endowment of technological capabilities, the specific nature of technological efforts being undertaken by manufacturing firms, and the constraints they face in enhancing such endeavors. The objective of the investigation is to gain a better understanding of the technological problems facing African enterprises, large and small, and to help the World Bank and other development agencies design more effective assistance programs to accelerate the supply response to policy reforms.
Technological capabilities cover a wide spectrum of technical efforts undertaken by firms.
The first set of capabilities refers to the skills and information needed to identify feasible projects, locate and purchase suitable technologies, design and engineer the plant, and manage the construction, commission and start-up. The skills and knowledge needed for the subsequent operation and improvement of the plant are defined as production capabilities. Lastly, the learning mechanisms available to firms determine the extent to which they can augment their endowments of production and investment capabilities over time. Together, the three types of capabilities determine how efficiently firms organize and manage their activities, i.e. their total factor productivity. The analysis of manufacturing productivity in Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe yields a number of important findings.