Africa Unlikely to Follow China’s Goose

Can Chinese investment inject some Asian-tiger-like vigor into African economies? That’s certainly the hope of many – including World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who has urged Chinese companies to expand beyond infrastructure and resource-extraction projects and also invest in manufacturing in Africa.
Something like this seems to still be happening in Asia, where countries that are poorer than China — such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia — have in fact been picking up some of the textile and garment business in recent years as Chinese costs go up.

But a new short paper published by the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment, at Columbia University, casts doubt on whether China’s low-end industries will actually shift to Africa in “flying geese” style. read more...