Private sector develoPment and industrial Policy: Why, hoW and for Whom?

Abstract

There has been a shift towards private sector development (PSD) in development approaches since the early 1990s which stresses the important role of the private sector in furthering economic development, generating employment and reducing poverty. The focus on the private sector goes along with a shift in development thinking that started in the 1980s away from the central role of the state as the prime agent of development towards the private sector, market forces and competition. In the 1980s this shift was promoted by key international organizations, most importantly the World Bank. In the 1990s most national donor agencies followed this trend and developed PSD programs and interventions.