The author presents a detailed analysis of the past performance of a large range of developing countries. They are used to examine the opportunities facing other countries in the 1990s. Analysis of the successes of the Newly Industrialising countries has always emphasized the important role of exports-a view reinforced by the problems faced by those countries who have pursued inward-looking strategies and by the impact of the debt crisis in the 1980s. The author shows how national policies have not simply responded to external opportunities, but have used them and adapted their own strategies to international conditions. She also demonstrates the increasing importance of financing constraints. The reduction in the availability of external finance and the restrictions on the type available places a serious limitation on the choice of trade policies and therefore on industrial and development strategies that can be pursued.