The concept of productive capacities was developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2006 and is broadly defined as “the productive resources, entrepreneurial capabilities and production linkages that together determine a country's ability to produce goods and services that will help it grow and develop”.
Productive resources refer to natural and human resources, as well as financial and physical capital. Entrepreneurial capabilities encompass both core and technological competencies. Production linkages include information exchange, resource flows and backward and forward linkages along the entire value chain. These interrelated elements, taken together, comprise a country’s productive capacities, which enable inclusive economic growth and development
The improvement of productive capacities lies at the heart of economic development and structural change that lift people out of poverty, whilst respecting planetary boundaries.
To operationalise the concept of productive capacities in the context of development policies, UNCTAD developed the Productive Capacities Index (PCI), which relies on eight components to measure different elements of productive capacities – Natural Capital, Human Capital, Transport, Energy, ICT, Institutions, Private Sector, and Structural Change.
Based on the PCI, UNCTAD develops National Productive Capacities Gap Assessments (NPCGAs), a document which has recently been prepared for Zimbabwe. The aim of the NPCGA is, through a sectoral analysis of the categories covered by the PCI, to diagnose, pinpoint the gaps and recommend economic and social policies to move Zimbabwe towards sustainable structural transformation.
The NPCGA of Zimbabwe discusses the main points to be addressed in the face of economic vulnerabilities and structural weaknesses, with the ultimate objective to support policy makers and other national stakeholders in identifying development gaps and fine-tuning the actions to address them.
As a part of the support, a Holistic Productive Capacities Development Programme for Zimbabwe was prepared to address the identified productive capacities gaps and support policies to advance inclusive growth and sustainable development.
The next step in the process, after the validation of the documents, is to jointly engage in a resource mobilization process, to obtain funding for the implementation of the Holistic Programme of Zimbabwe.
Objectives
The objectives of the workshop are to present, discuss and validate the National Productive Capacities Gap Assessment and the Holistic Productive Capacities Development Programme of Zimbabwe, to examine the gaps and limitations in productive capacities, their underlying factors, and potential remedies in the form of policies, strategies and their implementation.
Participants of the multi-stakeholder workshop will involve senior government officials, development partners, experts in the field of economic development and representatives of the private sector and civil society, including academic institutions.
