This paper analyzes the technological structure and performance of manufactured exports from developing countries between 1985 and 1998. It argues that export structures, being path-dependent and difficult to change, have significant implications for growth and development. Low technology products tend to grow the slowest, while technology-intensive products grow the fastest. East Asia dominates the scene, accounting for 70% of developing-world manufactured exports, with high and rising concentration at the national level. The strategies used to achieve competitiveness differ greatly between countries. Traditional trade theory cannot explain these patterns without considering learning processes and the policies used to promote them. The paper maps recent manufactured export patterns in developing countries using a new and detailed classification by technology. It compares developing with developed countries and, within the developing world, the main regions and leading exporters. It extends an earlier analysis of manufactured exports, using more recent data up to 1998 and a revised technological categorization of exports. It analyzes the main implications of the emerging patterns and provides a simplified analysis of the main drivers of export growth. Section 2 discusses the role of technology and describes the technological classification used. Section 3 analyzes the main trends in world trade and the comparative performance of developed versus developing countries. Section 4 deals with export performance by developing country groups under various sub-headings. Section 5 deals with the main implications and drivers of export success. Section 7 concludes. The technological structure of exports is analyzed, with a focus on the role of technology in the comparative advantage of developing countries. The paper argues that traditional trade theories that assume technological activity plays no role in the comparative advantage of developing countries are oversimplified. The capability approach suggests that comparative advantage depends more on the national ability to master and use technologies than on factor endowments. This implies that government policies to overcome the failures in learning in domestic firms and the attraction of FDI that brings in new technologies are important for technological learning. The paper also discusses the implications of export structures for growth and development. Technology-intensive structures offer better prospects for future growth because their products tend to grow faster in trade; they tend to be highly income elastic, create new demand, and substitute faster for older products. This is why high technology industries within industrial and semi-industrial countries are growing faster than other industries. They also have greater potential for further learning because they offer more scope for applying new scientific knowledge. They have larger spillover effects in terms of creating new skills and generic knowledge that can be used in other activities. The paper also discusses the technological distribution of manufactured exports, showing that the developing world has a more marked shift away from 'simple' (RB and LT) to 'complex' (MT and HT) products, but with a massive increase in HT shares. East Asia has the most high-tech export structure and the most pronounced upgrading. The paper also discusses the leading country performance, showing that export performance in the developing world is concentrated not just at the regionalThis paper analyzes the technological structure and performance of manufactured exports from developing countries between 1985 and 1998. It argues that export structures, being path-dependent and difficult to change, have significant implications for growth and development. Low technology products tend to grow the slowest, while technology-intensive products grow the fastest. East Asia dominates the scene, accounting for 70% of developing-world manufactured exports, with high and rising concentration at the national level. The strategies used to achieve competitiveness differ greatly between countries. Traditional trade theory cannot explain these patterns without considering learning processes and the policies used to promote them. The paper maps recent manufactured export patterns in developing countries using a new and detailed classification by technology. It compares developing with developed countries and, within the developing world, the main regions and leading exporters. It extends an earlier analysis of manufactured exports, using more recent data up to 1998 and a revised technological categorization of exports. It analyzes the main implications of the emerging patterns and provides a simplified analysis of the main drivers of export growth. Section 2 discusses the role of technology and describes the technological classification used. Section 3 analyzes the main trends in world trade and the comparative performance of developed versus developing countries. Section 4 deals with export performance by developing country groups under various sub-headings. Section 5 deals with the main implications and drivers of export success. Section 7 concludes. The technological structure of exports is analyzed, with a focus on the role of technology in the comparative advantage of developing countries. The paper argues that traditional trade theories that assume technological activity plays no role in the comparative advantage of developing countries are oversimplified. The capability approach suggests that comparative advantage depends more on the national ability to master and use technologies than on factor endowments. This implies that government policies to overcome the failures in learning in domestic firms and the attraction of FDI that brings in new technologies are important for technological learning. The paper also discusses the implications of export structures for growth and development. Technology-intensive structures offer better prospects for future growth because their products tend to grow faster in trade; they tend to be highly income elastic, create new demand, and substitute faster for older products. This is why high technology industries within industrial and semi-industrial countries are growing faster than other industries. They also have greater potential for further learning because they offer more scope for applying new scientific knowledge. They have larger spillover effects in terms of creating new skills and generic knowledge that can be used in other activities. The paper also discusses the technological distribution of manufactured exports, showing that the developing world has a more marked shift away from 'simple' (RB and LT) to 'complex' (MT and HT) products, but with a massive increase in HT shares. East Asia has the most high-tech export structure and the most pronounced upgrading. The paper also discusses the leading country performance, showing that export performance in the developing world is concentrated not just at the regional