Directeur : M. Jean-Paul AZAM, ARQUADE, Professeur à l'Université de Toulouse I, Institut Universitaire de France. Rapporteurs : M. Jean-Louis REIFFERS, CEFI, Professeur, Doyen honoraire, Université de la Méditerranée, Aix-Marseille II. M. Khalid SEKKAT, DULBEA, Professeur à l'Université Libre de Bruxelles. Suffragants : Mme Mary-Françoise RENARD, CERDI, Professeur à l'Université d'Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand I. M. Patrick PLANE, CNRS, CERDI, Directeur de Recherche. ; The purpose of this Ph.D. thesis is to analyse the impact of exogenous resources booms on the development of Egyptian manufacturing. Our interest for the manufacturing sector comes from its central contribution for the long-run growth. If it is generating the sources of long-run growth, an unexpected decline, even temporary, of this sector may have, ceteris paribus, irreversible effects in terms of growth performances. Egyptian manufacturing sector has known such a decline between 1974 and 1985. During this very period, Egypt has also known several positive external shocks, related to the once-for-all surge of four types of revenues: aid, oil, Suez canal revenues and worker remittances. At first sight, the theory of the Dutch disease, analysing how a boom may induce a de-industrialisation, seemed to us particularly relevant for explaining the Egyptian experience. The original aspect of our research is that it stresses the irrelevancy of the Dutch disease mechanism for explaining the Egyptian manufacturing decline as a reaction to the booms. It shows that the impact of the booms on Egyptian manufacturing sector may be explained by an “allocation of talents” mechanism. The booms encourage the development of a politico-institutional context that favours rent-seeking activities, making them more profitable that productive activities. Hence, the rent-seeking activities are attracting the most talented workers. The implications of the booms for the manufacturing sector are much more serious than a Dutch disease effect. Besides the productive structure, ...