New Delhi, May 20 -- At a gathering of academics and policymakers at Harvard this month, a participant reminded me that I had published a column 15 years ago on 'The Manufacturing Imperative.'

As the title suggests, the piece emphasized the importance of industrialization in driving economic growth, creating good jobs, and building a middle class. "This is one of my all-time favourite articles," the policymaker from Africa told the audience.

There is scarcely a greater reward for a scholar than having his ideas resonate strongly with the people for whom he writes. But in this case, a gentle rebuke came along with the praise. What I had written in that column and many other places at the time seemed to conflict sharply with the arguments...