A global perspective on industry 4.0 and development: new gaps or opportunities to leapfrog?

This paper contributes to the debate on digitalisation and development focusing on industrial organisation and production processes. It analyses the evolution of the global development landscape since the 1990s and provides a taxonomy of channels through which Industry 4.0 is redefining the patterns of value creation and appropriation. It clarifies the impacts of these changes on developing economies and presents policy options to avoid that Industry 4.0 becomes another and even greater source of development gaps within and between countries.