Costed Action Plan for SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap development of intermediates, though this will depend on cost, deliveryreliability and quality issues. Regional influences are substantial. World Bank research suggests that “remote countries tend only to achieve GVC participation in two situations: (i) Where they are large and have significant internal markets to support integration in automotive and/or electronics GVCs in the assembly stages; (ii) In mining and other commodity-oriented value chains”. e) Policy Influences Although policy variables appear to have a lesser impact on VC participation in emerging markets where structural influences are more dominant than in developed ones, three key elements of policy stand out: (i) Low import tariffs – both at home and in export markets and participation in regional trade areas (RTAs), facilitates both forward and backward integration; (ii) Openness to inward FDI boosts both forward and backward participation; and (iii) Logistics, including infrastructure quality, quality of institutions, protection of intellectual property and trade facilitation, are positively correlated with greater value chain participation. The OECD has designed a four-stage hands-on approach to value chain policymaking (Figure 3.1) that should serve as a blueprint for policymakers in the SADC region. The schema suggests that where weak infrastructure and insufficient skills are pervasive, stage three – bottlenecks and weaknesses – should be prioritized to facilitate the identification and implementation of specific value chain opportunities. Fig 3.1. The four stages of Value Chain Policymaking Identify potential Value Chains Assess opportunities within a specific chain Pinpoint bottlenecks and supply weaknesses Design and implement appropriate policy interventions Source: OECD (2014) 29