A Conceptual Framework for Measuring Local Firm Capabilities in New Producing Countries

About the ProjectNatural Resource-led Development in New Producing CountriesOur project seeks to understand how natural resource extraction can drive inclusive economic growth in new producing countries. We are engaged in a multiyear multidisciplinary study with four objectives: Understand the human geography of new producing countries.Assess the magnitude of new discoveries and estimate direct fiscal impact.Understand how industry can be localized to create economic growth. Estimate spillovers and welfare impacts to society. We recognize that policymaking in new producing countries is a complex process, and our project also seeks to understand the interactions of actors' interests that drive energy sector policies. Our initial focus is on four countries – Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda – that expect to develop significant oil and gas reserves in the next 5-7 years. Through natural resource development, these countries hope to achieve middle-income economic status by 2030-2040. This project is conducted through close collaboration with leading think tanks and NGOs in Africa.Key PointsPolicymakers in new resource-rich Eastern African countries are eager to promote industrialization and economic development by encouraging international oil and gas companies (IOCs) to use local suppliers. However, policymakers usually lack information on the local firms’ abilities and typically depend on studies by the IOCs to assess these capabilities. Such studies are useful and necessary but they usually only address the needs of the IOCs. By considering the capacity of local firms to learn and innovate, vital information is gathered which can then be used to enhance the design of local content policies. It also raises the prospects for the creation of a more sustainable local supplier base.The assessment of the capabilities of local firms could be improved by introducing the constructs of absorptive capacity and innovation. This would give policymakers a dynamic, instead of static, view of the local industry.Providing policymakers with a better understanding of the local firms’ potential and ability to learn and grow will allow them to come up with more varied options in the design of local content policies and potentially provide more suppliers for industry.A wider perspective of the local firms’ capabilities also contributes to the linking of local content policies to the overarching objective of expanding the local economy.

关于项目：新产油国自然资源引导型发展本项研究旨在探究自然资源开采如何推动新产油国包容性经济增长。我们正在进行一项历时数年的多学科研究，旨在实现以下四个目标：理解新产油国的人文地理；评估新发现资源的规模并估算直接的财政影响；探究如何实现产业本地化以促进经济增长；估算对社会的溢出效应和福利影响。我们认识到，新产油国的政策制定是一个复杂的过程，因此，本项目亦致力于理解推动能源政策制定的各方利益互动。我们的初步关注点是四个国家——肯尼亚、莫桑比克、坦桑尼亚和乌干达——这些国家预计在未来5至7年内将开发出大量的石油和天然气储备。通过自然资源开发，这些国家期望在2030至2040年间实现中等收入经济体的地位。本项目通过与非洲领先的智库和非政府组织进行紧密合作而展开。重点要点：新资源丰富的新兴东非国家的政策制定者热切希望通过鼓励国际石油和天然气公司（IOCs）使用当地供应商来促进工业化与经济发展。然而，政策制定者通常缺乏关于当地企业能力的了解，并通常依赖于IOCs的研究来评估这些能力。此类研究虽有用且必要，但它们通常仅满足IOCs的需求。通过考虑当地企业的学习能力和创新能力，我们可以收集到至关重要的信息，进而用于完善本地化内容政策的制定。这也有助于提高建立一个更可持续的本地供应商基地的前景。通过引入吸收能力和创新的构建，我们可以提高对当地企业能力的评估，为政策制定者提供动态而非静态的当地产业视角。向政策制定者提供对当地企业潜在学习能力和成长能力的更深入理解，将使他们能够在设计本地化内容政策时提出更多样化的选择，并可能为行业提供更多供应商。对当地企业能力的更广泛视角也有助于将本地化内容政策与扩大本地经济的主导目标相联系。