Industry and Industrialization in Ethiopia: Policy Dynamics and Spatial Distributions

This study explored the formulation and implementation of industrial policy under the successive regimes of Ethiopia and the sectors inter-regional and intra-regional distribution. To this end, a mixed research approach is pursued in the analysis of the primary and secondary data. The study revealed that, industrial policy formulation in Ethiopia has undergone several changes across the regimes. The industrial policy menu and practice at one time or another consisted of market-oriented development (under the Imperial era and EPRDF regime), public oriented (under Dergue), foreign dominating industrialization (under Imperial Regime), domestic ownership (Under EPRDF), and import Substitution Vs export promotion (under all regimes). The study indicated that industrial policy formulation and execution in Ethiopia is pragmatic that is not obsessed with a particular development ideology. At national level, under the incumbent regime, the output and the number of establishments increased rapidly though below the expectation of the government. The large and medium manufacturing industries are not equally distributed across regions. The ‘‘developed regions’ ’ achieved an increasing share of industrial development while the ‘‘peripheral regions’ ’ lagged behind. Notwithstanding its dominance in major industrial establishments, the share of Addis Ababa City Administrations is decreasing over years though still serve as industrial hub of the country. There is significant disparities among and within region