Session documents

Productive capacities are productive resources, entrepreneurial capabilities and production linkages that together determine countries’ abilities to produce goods and services that help them grow and develop. Economy-wide, domestic productive capacities are necessary to advance structural transformation and economic diversification, and to enable countries’ more effective engagement in the global economy through international trade, investment and production value chains. Productive capacities aim at putting developing economies in the driving seat of their national development.

UNCTAD’s innovative Productive Capacities Index (PCI) measures the level of productive capacities in 194 countries and territories and subsequently facilitates identification of the gaps in policy and institutional architecture, including in PCI’s eight components: natural capital, human capital, transport, energy, ICT, private sector, institutions and structural change.

The fragmented models of development and international support have run their cycle producing limited results, and a new approach is required, one which is holistic, comprehensive, multisectoral, gender-balanced, climate-resilient and long term. Fostering productive capacities lies at the core of this new approach, which emphasises the importance of reformulating structural transformation and sustainable development trajectories. Moreover, the sectoral underdevelopment of certain PCI components and the overall weak productive capacities inhibit countries’ path to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, urgent actions need to be implemented to build domestic productive capacities in developing countries, particularly LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS.

The course will enable participants/delegates to acquire knowledge on productive capacities and on the Productive Capacities Index (PCI), including on UNCTAD’s work in the area. The participants/delegates will learn about inclusive and comprehensive policy formulation to advance structural transformation and economic diversification through the building of productive capacities.

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