Ethiopia is one of the few countries in Africa that pursues an active and comprehensive industrial policy. Ethiopia is looking to position itself as the new low-cost manufacturer of the world. To achieve its goal, Ethiopia needs proper industrial policies consideration which comprise “more particular facts than any brain could ascertain or manipulate” (Hayek 1973). The objective of the “Industrial Policies Series” is to examine current outcomes of Ethiopia’s endeavor to identify key elements in the Ethiopia-specific complexity that are pivotal to both success and failure. Targeted sectors used for our examinations are the leather sector, horticulture sector, and cement sector. In part A, a comparison between the leather, horticulture sector and the cement sector will be made to stress on the value of import-substituting policies.

Ethiopia is one of the few countries in Africa that pursues an active and comprehensive industrial policy. Ethiopia is looking to position itself as the new low-cost manufacturer of the world. To achieve its goal, Ethiopia needs proper industrial policies consideration which comprise “more particular facts than any brain could ascertain or manipulate” (Hayek 1973). The objective of the “Industrial Policies Series” is to examine current outcomes of Ethiopia’s endeavor to identify key elements in the Ethiopia-specific complexity that are pivotal to both success and failure. Targeted sectors used for our examinations are the leather sector, horticulture sector, and cement sector. In part A, a comparison between the leather, horticulture sector and the cement sector will be made to stress on the value of import-substituting policies.