Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the changing role of social policy in industrialization initiatives in Tanzania from the 1970s. It provides evidence of underlying political and theoretical changes that have altered the understanding of the constitutive nature of social and economic policy over time.

Paper long abstract:

Industrialization has recently returned to the centre of economic planning in Tanzania after a shift away from the concern with growth and poverty reduction of the 1980s and 1990s. Yet during the 1970s, industrialization was also an issue of prime policy concern for the newly independent socialist government of Tanzania. The debates on industrialisation and economic change during the 1970s were rich in content, but have since disappeared from sight, either because they are seen as erroneous or as no longer relevant. Current industrial policies focus on supply side constraints. Industrial policy in the 1970s however contained greater awareness of the importance of securing a constitutive connection between economic and social policies in the process of industrialisation, The focus on health care, for example, went together with the establishment of pharmaceutical industries in Tanzania, and, similarly, the educational policies was not only about schools, but also involved thinking about the industrial supply of necessary materials for teaching. This paper explores the historically changing role given to social policies within industrialization initiatives in Tanzania by examining industrial and economic policies from the 1970s. It argues that compared to past iterations of industrialization initiatives, the return to concern with industrialization now has a narrow focus on supply side issues and ignores questions of demand, consumption and human needs in bringing about a path of industrialization that can achieve improvements in human wellbeing over time.