The Development of the Malaysian Plastics Industry

Based on our field research, we studied the emergence and development of the plastic injection industry in Malaysia. Our analysis provides evidence to reconsider the mainstream approach to economic growth as found in the literature. Our findings demonstrate that product upgrading from household wares to electrical and electronic parts brought about the growth of the industry. This movement was initiated by innovative entrepreneurs who had been workers at other companies in the same industry. These features are not incorporated in the neoclassical growth models which have mostly been used for empirical studies.