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11. The Dissolution of Sectors: Do Politics and Sectors Still Go Together?

Author:
Mark Huberty
Publication Date:
04-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
Technological change has altered firm behavior in ways that are rendering sectoral models of political economy inadequate for understanding the economic and political consequences of modern market evolution. I use cases from the computer and medical devices industries to demonstrate this process, its key variables, and consequences for firm preferences. Firms in both industries have moved into new sectors with integrated goods-services product strategies. In doing so, they have disrupted, or put into dispute, the political configurations that characterized those sectors in the past. I conclude with three suggestions on why the disintegration of sectors remains uneven across industries: that it may depend on the degree of information dependence in the industry; on the availability of suitable regulatory templates to guide firm action; or on the prior-existing role of services in the firm's home sector business.
Topic:
Markets

12. The State in A Double Bind: Staying Wealthy in a Changing Global Economy

Author:
John Zysman and Dan Breznitz
Publication Date:
04-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
Can Wealthy Nations Stay Rich In A Rapidly Changing Global Economy? This was the question with which we began our inquiry several years ago. The policy objective for governments is classic and enduring: sustain the growth of employment and productivity to assure expanding real incomes of the citizens. Success requires that—under free and fair market conditions, the community (firms and populace) can produce goods and services that meet the test of international markets while simultaneously expanding the real income of its citizens. I But the strategies required to achieve the goals and the debates about those strategies have evolved in two different directions, seemingly proposing alternate and contradictory priorities on governments.
Topic:
Government and Markets

13. Fordism Light: Hyundai's Challenge to Coordinated Capitalism

Author:
Gregory W. Noble
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
Despite receiving a strikingly pessimistic evaluation in the acclaimed volume The Machine that Changed the World (Womack et al., 1990), the Hyundai-Kia group has overcome numerous crises to become the fourth largest auto producer in the world.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance and Markets
Political Geography:
South Korea

14. The Domestic Trap verses the Launchpad: The Political Economies of Wireless Telecommunications in Japan and South Korea

Author:
Kenji Erik Kushida
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
The wireless telecommunications markets of Japan and South Korea both developed rapidly, offering extremely sophisticated and advanced wireless services. Yet, their fortunes in international markets diverged significantly - while Japanese firms retreated to become virtual non-players, Korean firms became top global handset manufacturers.
Topic:
Markets and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Japan, Asia, and South Korea

15. Building on the Past, Imagining the Future: Competency Based Growth Strategies in a Global Digital Age

Author:
John Zysman, Dan Breznitz, Niels Christian Nielsen, and Derek Wong
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
The policy objective for governments is classic and enduring: sustain the growth of employment and productivity to assure expanding real incomes of the citizens. Success requires that “under free and fair market conditions, the community (firms and populace) can produce goods and services that meet the test of international markets while simultaneously expanding the real income of its citizens.” Yet, the logic of competition and value creation in global markets has evolved. Consequently, old strategies of simply supporting the competitiveness of particular national flag firms or chasing smokestacks are clearly obsolete, but merely investing in R or education is not sufficient, and doing nothing is a formula for decline. Regions have to conceive new strategies to find distinctive advantages to support employment and productive activity. Those strategies will need to target competencies, not particular firms or specific sectors. We argue, first, that basic shifts in global markets have altered for firms the logic of value creation and the character of competition. Second, we contend that this changed value logic also alters the policy choices and growth strategies for places, be they regions or nations or simply communities. The focus of and foundation for policy analysis must be the domains of competency that underpin diverse activities of firms and are central to competitive advantage in sectors. Finally, we argue that there are no magic strategy bullets, but rather an array of options and choices. Successful strategies will emerge by building on the past while imagining the future.
Topic:
Development, Government, Markets, and Political Economy

16. Understanding South Korea and Japan's Spectacular Broadband Development: Strategic Liberalization of the Telecommunications Sectors

Author:
Seung-Youn Oh and Kenji Kushida
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
The ICT sectors of both South Korea and Japan developed rapidly, especially in developing high-speed, low priced broadband services. These networks can potentially provide both economies with new playgrounds for experimentation and innovation. Existing explanations of how these broadband networks and services were created tend to be confused and contradictory regarding 1) the roles played by the states, 2) the exact mechanisms of interaction between governments policies and programs, regulatory frameworks, and market dynamics, and 3) the politics driving each of the state-market interactions.
Topic:
International Political Economy and Markets
Political Geography:
Japan, Asia, and South Korea