Smart industries: the importance of technology and R&D for industry performance

Prof. Simon Roberts, previously the director of Corporate Strategy and Industrial Development (CSID) at the University of the Witwatersrand and now chief economist at the Competition Commission in this paper explains the importance for industrial development of technological capability development across all economic sectors. The sector studies discussed here indicate that the traditional 'heavy' industries have not only developed leading technological capabilities in their fields but also created opportunities for lateral migration into 'smart industries' and other markets. The paper shows that for developing economies, technological advancement has less to do with pushing back technological frontiers than with the assimilation and adaptation of technologies.