Industrial Diversification and Its Impact on Productivity Growth in Taiwan's Electronics Industry*

The present study attempts to link plant‐level production diversification to productivity growth in Taiwan's electronics industry. An account of the role of the Taiwanese government over the last 2 decades leading to the take‐off of its electronics industry is briefly discussed. We reviewed production activities of more than 20 000 Taiwanese electronics plants during the period 1992–1999. In an inter‐industry comparison, we find that at the four‐digit and seven‐digit industry levels, Taiwanese electronics production plants exhibit a significantly higher degree of product diversification than plants in the manufacturing sector as a whole. Econometric results positively identify diversification as a source of significant productivity growth across all electronics plants classified in the related industry groups.     

The Electronics Industries of the Asia–Pacific: Exploiting International Production Networks for Economic Development

Although the electronics industry has been one of the main driving forces behind the export-led growth of the newly industrialising economies (NIEs) of the Asia–Pacific, there has until recently been little empirical research showing how the various NIEs managed to enter international markets and gain technology. This paper describes the overall characteristics of the electronics sector in the NIEs, highlighting the main organisational innovations which have enabled local firms to enter international markets and acquire foreign technology. The OEM (original equipment manufacture) system, prevalent in East Asia, is contrasted with the TNC (transnational company)-led growth dominant in Southeast Asia. The paper also discusses the emerging 'contract electronics manufacturing', or CEM, which could threaten traditional OEM and TNC-subsidiary production in the NIEs. The electronics sector proves to be a rich source of empirical material, both for understanding the processes of economic development and for illustrating the role of latecomer enterprise in engaging with and exploiting international production networks.     

Electronics in India: Past strategies and future possibilities

The growth of production in the Indian electronics sector has been slow and has not kept pace with home demand or projected estimates. Exports have also grown slowly and indigenous R&D has not provided the essential back-up for ensuring high-quality products capable of competing in the international market. This paper examines the possible reasons for this disappointing performance.The paper first traces the growth in production, imports and exports and makes some projections for the future. It then describes government policies towards industry in general and the electronics sector in particular, specifying both the positive and negative impacts. Weaknesses in the present pattern of promotion are identified. Issues related to the development and use of indigenous technologu, as opposed to the import of technology, are discussed. The author concludes by highlighting the need for a new direction in government policies to bring about renewed growth in the electronics sector: specific suggestions are made on how to meet current and future internal demand and to increase exports.     

EXPORTING AND PRODUCTIVITY: A FIRM‐LEVEL ANALYSIS OF THE TAIWAN ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY

Based on the panel data of Taiwanese electronics firms, this paper explores the relationship between exporting and productivity. Contemporaneous levels of exports and productivity are indeed positively correlated. The causality tests show causality from productivity to exporting and vice versa, implying that self‐selection and learning‐by‐exporting effects coexist in the Taiwan electronics industry, while the learning‐by‐exporting effect is less supported. Exporting also has a positive impact on the productivity growth of firms, while the effect diminishes gradually after entering foreign markets. Decomposing the productivity growth shows that the reallocation effect accounts for only 20 per cent compared to the own‐effect share of 80 per cent, which is mostly contributed by firms that continually export.     

The Technology Ladder in Development: the Singapore case

This paper by Singapore's former Deputy Prime Minister explains Singapore's industrial development in which the electronics industry was a major propellant. The growth of industry from the late 1960s cleared the backlog of unemployment, created demand for technical staff which transformed the education system and facilitated technology transfer to Singaporean companies. It also proved a developmental force as it moved into neighbouring countries when labour shortage in Singapore became a constraint. The article traces the role of multinational companies and of technical education in Singapore's ascent of the technology ladder and, more briefly, that of Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia.     

Catching up with the Technology Frontier: Finnish Manufacturing Productivity, 1975–2003

Abstract

Labour productivity in Finnish manufacturing industry grew at the rapid average annual rate of 5 per cent from 1975 to 2003. The labour productivity growth was broad-based, or yeast-like, in the 1970s and 1980s, with contributions from multi-factor productivity gains in the paper and metal industries dominating. In the 1990s productivity growth was much more mushroom-like, that is, concentrated in the electronics industry. The level of labour productivity in Finnish manufacturing matched that of the USA by the end of the second millennium. Labour costs and unit labour costs remained at only three-quarters of the US level, although real hourly compensation increased steadily. After 1995 manufacturing industry constituted a quarter of the Finnish economy but contributed a third of overall economic growth.     

Agglomeration Effects versus Policy Effects: The Case of the Electronics Industry in Malaysia

The present study analyses investments within the Malaysian electronics industry in 1991 to assess the effectiveness of development policy in light of strong agglomeration effects in the electronics industry. We find that agglomeration and the use of industrial estates as development policy have had positive effects on firms' location choice. However, agglomeration has a much larger effect than industrial estates. In addition, we find that the marginal effect of industrial estates is positively correlated with the degree of agglomeration. This suggests that improvement of problems of regional inequality by industry estates would be very difficult in reality.     

汽车电子产业发展对策研究

汽车电子产业发展水平是反映汽车工业竞争力的重要指标。本文首先阐述了我国汽车电子产业发展状况,然后指出了目前我国汽车电子产业发展存在的主要问题,如自主创新水平低、市场进入门槛高、产业链不很完善、专业人才很缺乏。最后提出了一些汽车电子产业发展对策,如提升创新能力、选准发展重点、完善产业链条、加强人才培养。     

The development of the ‘electronics complex’ and government policies in Brazil

This paper reports some of the results of research conducted at the Instituto de Economia Industrial of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro on the pattern of development of two industries of the ‘electronics complex’ — electronic data processing equipment (EDPE) and electronic semiconductor components (SCC). The industries were selected because of their technological and economic importance and for their potential inter-relatedness, as well as for policy-related reasons.The research focused on the analysis of the international characteristics of the two industries (based mainly on secondary sources) and an empirical investigation of their pattern of competition in Brazil. Following a brief characterization of the ‘electronics complex,’ the next section of this paper describes the evolution of imports, local production and exports and the pattern of competition in the Brazilian market. The third section analyzes in more detail the inter-relations between consumers, international firms, local producers and Government policies, focusing mainly on the EDPE industry ‘infant-industry’ experience. The last section focuses on the intended policy for the SCC industry, exploring the implications of industrial interdependence and drawing from the experience of the EDPE industry. The article concludes by presenting some requisite characteristics of policy for fostering an ‘electronics complex’, which may be useful not only for Brazil, but for other LDCs as well.     

自主创新中加速中国汽车电子产业发展

“加强自主创新,用15年时间建立创新型国家”是党和国家领导人向全国人民发出的庄严号召。国家汽车工业“十一五”发展规划中大力强调自主品牌和自主创新,大力发展汽车电子产业。文章对正确理解中国汽车电子产业自主创新内涵,自主创新对加速中国汽车电子产业发展的意义以及中国汽车电子产业自主创新中所面临的问题与对策进行了详细的阐述。     

中日韩自由贸易区的经济效应及推进路径——基于SMART的模拟分析

本文在SMART模型框架下建立了一个局部均衡模型,基于HS6分位数据模拟中日韩三国间不同的阶段性双边关税减让方案和长期内关税的全部减让对三国经济的影响。结果表明,中日韩自由贸易协定启动后,三国的农业部门、日本和韩国的纺织品部门以及中国的汽车部门将受到来自其他两国较为明显的冲击。机电产品及其零部件的区域内贸易增长潜力有限,但三国在该领域的垂直专业化分工尚具备进一步拓展的潜力。中日韩自由贸易区谈判首先要克服来自当前高度保护部门的阻力,而在机电产品领域应重点促进区域内投资和技术贸易的便利化,运用发达的地区分工网络提升各国在后危机时代的全球竞争力。     

Expansion of EU's Free Trade Agreements into Asian Countries and Its Impact on the Chinese Economy

Abstract

This study investigates the macroeconomic impact of EU's free trade agreements with Asian countries and the US on the Chinese economy. In addition we examine the impacts on the Chinese industry output based on the framework of production network and production fragmentation. The expansion of the EU's economic reach toward ASEAN and Japan through free trade agreement will generate a positive macroeconomic effect on negotiation participants while it generates a negative effect on the Chinese economy: Some portions of existing trade and foreign direct investment will be shifted to partner countries from non-partner countries. However, according to a sectorial analysis, EU's free trade agreements with three countries result in a positive impact on China's electronics and machinery industry, because China's industry is linked to the production fragmentation and foreign affiliates play a crucial role.     

The Future is in the Past: Projecting and Plotting the Potential Rate of Growth and Trajectory of the Structural Change of the Chinese Economy for the Next 20 Years

Based on the convergence hypothesis and referring to the experience of East Asian high‐performing economies from 1950 to 2010, this paper projects and plots the potential growth rate of the Chinese economy over the next 20 years. It predicts that the potential growth rate of per capita GDP adjusted by purchasing power parity averages at 6.02 percent from 2015 to 2035, while the potential GDP growth rate of 2015 would still be above 8 percent, which implies that the realized rate of growth has not reached its potential since 2012. Besides, based on the per capita GDP projected and on cross‐country comparison, the paper plots the trajectory of structural change of the Chinese economy from 2015 to 2035. The result shows that: (i) the value‐added share of primary industry will drop more rapidly than the employment share; (ii) the value‐added share of secondary industry will decline and employment share will present an inverted U shape whose turning point will probably come between 2020 and 2025; (iii) both the value‐added and employment share of tertiary industry will increase continuously.     

Foreign Investment and the Global Geography of Production: Why the Mexican Consumer Electronics Industry Failed

Explanations of industrial development in late-developing countries have become narrowly focused on the capability of governments to promote, pressure, or punish nationally-owned firms. Often overlooked is the contribution of firms, both national and multinational, in propelling, coordinating, and determining the path and location of such development. This paper examines the conditions that led to the decline of Mexico's consumer electronics industry and presents new evidence to support a more complex account of the role of both industrial and state actors within this process.In contrast to the traditional market- or state-based theories, we argue that the decline of Mexico's consumer electronics industry largely resulted from its foreign investment regime, particularly the timing of investment and the geographical locations of local and foreign manufacturers, and the subsequent depth and quality of the relationships between these firms. The differences between Mexico's regime and that of Taiwan during the same period provide further evidence of the important role that foreign firms play in inserting local suppliers into the global production chain. We argue that Mexico's foreign investment regime and the resulting weak local-foreign ties, rather than inadequate state policy, sealed the fate of Mexico's once thriving domestic electronics industry.     

中小制造业企业的数字化转型路径探究

解决好中小制造业企业数字化转型问题是全面推进产业转型升级、培育新经济增长极的重要内容之一。借鉴美、德经验,坚持政府引导、市场多方参与的平台化发展路径。建议面向中小企业聚集产业,体系化布局数字化转型促进中心,建立政府主导、产学研用共同参与的工业互联网公共技术服务平台,构建可持续发展的平台运营模式,围绕制造业企业“诊、研、产、供、销、服、评”关键环节开展技术服务,帮助中小制造业企业开展数字化转型升级改造。     

广东人力资本存量与工业竞争力

以卢卡斯为代表的新经济增长理论认为,经济增长的源泉是人力资本的积累。本文选取广东、浙江、江苏、上海、山东五大工业省市,通过对其人力资本存量、人力资本产出及人力资本投资情况的对比分析,得出广东工业发展的潜力将受到人力资源不足的挑战。江苏、山东、上海在人力资源方面所显示出的优势将成为广东工业发展强有力的竞争者。     

Vertical linkages and multinational enterprises in developing countries

Many studies have concluded that multinational firms do not create significant technical and other vertical linkages in developing host countries. This case study of three multinational firms in the export-oriented electronics industry in Singapore shows that under certain conditions multinational firms can lead in creating local vertical linkages. It suggests that restrictive government policies to increase local purchases may not be necessary, effective or desirable in promoting local linkages by export-oriented multinational firms that respond primarily to international market conditions. The Singapore experience poinst to the importance of a healthy investment climate and rapid economic growth in encouraging multinational firms to forge local linkages.     

FDI研发溢出效应对内资企业劳动生产率影响研究——以广东机动车和电子业为例

本研究比较了FDI研发活动对广东本地机动车和电子企业劳动生产率的影响.在机动车业,FDI和本地组装企业对本地零件供应企业都具有垂直溢出效应;对于水平溢出效应,以销售额为权重的水平溢出效应使得本地内资企业劳动生产率提高,而零件供应业的FDI按照人力资本为权重的水平溢出效应并没有提高本地零件供应企业的劳动生产率,竞争者之间的水平溢出效应与存在互补关系双方的垂直溢出效应相比,相对较弱.对于电子业,垂直溢出效应较小,而无论是以销售额为权重还是以就业人员为权重,电子业的水平溢出效应都不显著.     

依靠科技创新促进河北沿海区域经济发展的对策

受科技创新滞后影响,河北沿海区域经济同发达省份比较还存在不小差距,表现在经济发展模式落后,产业结构失调,对外贸易及开放程度不够等方面。应构建科技创新与河北沿海区域经济协调发展的对策体系,以科技创新促进产业结构调整,打造新区域经济增长极,以沿海港口为依托,发挥临港产业集群的龙头作用,培育新的示范区域,实现沿海区域经济提速发展。     

四川省不同产业对就业增长影响的比较分析

文章从经济增长对劳动力就业的弹性、单位增加值带动的就业人数、就业结构与产业结构的偏离度等三个方面比较了四川省三次产业对就业增长影响的差异,发现将有更多的劳动力从第一产业退出,而第二产业也拒绝接受更多的从业人员,只有第三产业还可以容纳较多的劳动力就业。因此,进一步调整产业结构,大力发展第三产业有助于改善四川省的就业状况。