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251. Defense Industrial Base Capabilities Study: Battlespace Awareness

Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
In February 2003, the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, ODUSD(IP), produced Transforming the Defense Industrial Base: A Roadmap. This report identified the need for systematic evaluation of the ability of the defense industrial base to develop and provide functional, operational effects-based warfighting capabilities. The Defense Industrial Base Capabilities Study (DIBCS) series begins a systematic assessment of critical technologies and industrial capabilities needed in the 21st century defense industrial base to meet warfighter requirements as framed by the Joint Staff's Functional Concepts and Joint Operational Architecture. The DIBCS series ties directly to warfighter needs by linking industrial base capabilities to warfighter capabilities derived from the Functional Concepts. This report addresses the first of those functional concepts, Battlespace Awareness.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

252. The Mexican Internet after the Boom: Challenges and Opportunities

Author:
Martin Kenney, James Curry, and Oscar Contreras
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
The Internet will be the defining technology of the first decade of the 21st Century. It is redefining boundaries of all sorts in new and unforeseen ways. As with many previous disruptive technologies, the Internet can be a double-edged sword for developing countries such as Mexico. For example, the Internet has the potential to dramatically lower barriers to cross-border trade. This will enable international retailers to penetrate the Mexican market potentially undermining domestic retail businesses. On the other side, the Internet could provide opportunities for Mexican firms to enter the global market, particularly Spanish-speaking Latin America and the huge U.S. Hispanic market. But this is only the tip of the iceberg of change. For example, in a country such as Mexico in which information has not been readily available and public libraries are relatively few in number and poorly stocked, the free and low-cost information available on the Internet provides a powerful new distribution medium – it provides inexpensive access to global information sources.
Topic:
Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States, Latin America, Central America, North America, and Mexico

253. Spoken-About Knowledge: Why It Takes Much More than 'Knowledge management' to Manage Knowledge

Author:
Niels Christian Nielsen and Maj Cecilie Nielsen
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
Unimerco a/s is a company depending on knowledge for its success. For CEO Kenneth Iversen - and for all of his colleagues in Unimerco - leading, managing, and developing knowledge processes internally and with suppliers and customers is a dominant aspect of every single workday.
Topic:
Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Europe

254. Supporting the High-Technology Entrepreneur: Support Network Geographies for Semiconductor, Telecommunications Equipment, and Biotechnology Start-Ups

Author:
Martin Kenney and Donald Patton
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
Using a unique database derived from U.S. initial public stock offering prospecti, the authors examine the location of four actors (the firm's lawyers, the venture capitalists on the board of directors, the other members of the board of directors, and the lead investment banker) of the entrepreneurial support network for start-up firms in three high-technology industries: semiconductors, telecommunications equipment, and biotechnology. We demonstrate that the economic geography of the biotechnology support network differs significantly from the networks in semiconductors and telecommunications equipment. Our results suggest that generalization about the economic geography of high-technology industries drawn from a single industry study can be misleading. We find that biotechnology has a far more dispersed network structure than the two electronics-related industries. We suggest that the case of biotechnology suggests that if the source of seeds for new firms is highly dispersed, then an industry may not experience the path dependent clustering suggested by geographers and economists. Also, we argue that contrary to common belief biotechnology and its support network does not exhibit as great clustering as does either semiconductors or telecommunications equipment. Suggesting that for economic development planners, it may be easy to encourage biotechnology start-ups, but the synergies from the industry may not be as powerful as in other high-technology fields.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

255. Building Venture Capital Industries: Understanding the U.S. and Israeli Experience

Author:
Martin Kenney, Gil Avnimelech, and Morris Teubal
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
During the growth phase of every venture capita (VC) business cycle, it seems as though both local and national governments in various countries initiate policies aimed at establishing VC industries as part of a high-technology economic development strategy. It is remarkable how each time there seems to be a proliferation of ill-advised policies that are usually reminiscent of the ones tried during the previous phase. Not surprisingly, in a distressingly large number of cases, the “new” policies to foster VC meet with minimal success or fail outright. While the causes of failure are undoubtedly multiple, there is ample room for believing that often the policies were based on a simplistic or incomplete understanding of the roots and dynamics that have led to the development of self-sustaining national VC industries. This paper uses historically informed case studies of Israel and the U.S. to develop an appreciative model of how the VC industries in these two nations came into being. Our model and understanding of this process is deliberately evolutionary and systemic. We believe that this perspective is the only one capable of providing both scholars and policy-makers with a grounded understanding of the emergence and development of the VC industries in these two nations.
Topic:
Economics, Government, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States and Israel

256. Learning and Change in Twentieth-Century British Economic Policy

Author:
Michael J. Oliver and Hugh Pemberton
Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
Despite considerable interest in the means by which policy learning occurs, and in how it is that the framework of policy may be subject to radical change, the “black box” of economic policymaking remains surprisingly murky. This article utilizes Peter Hall's concept of “social learning” to develop a more sophisticated model of policy learning; one in which paradigm failure does not necessarily lead to wholesale paradigm replacement, and in which an administrative battle of ideas may be just as important a determinant of paradigm change as a political struggle. It then applies this model in a survey of UK economic policymaking since the 1930s: examining the shift to “Keynesianism” during the 1930s and 1940s; the substantial revision of this framework in the 1960s; the collapse of the “Keynesian-plus” framework in the 1970s; and the major revisions to the new “neo-liberal” policy framework in the 1980s and 1990s.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

257. The Political Economy of Regionalism: Current Theorizing and Preliminary Observations on the G-3 FTA

Author:
Antonio Ortiz Mena López Negrete
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:
This working paper provides and overview of current theorizing on the political economy of regional integration. Specifically, it assesses several theories that attempt to explain the causes behind the resurgence or regionalism in the late 1980's and early 1990's with special emphasis on Milner's demand-driven theory based on demands for regionalism by firms with internal increasing returns to scale. After reviewing the main propositions of the theories in light of the G-3 Free Trade Agreement, it finds that no single theory adequately accounts for the causes behind the establishment of the agreement, that Milner's model is better at specifying preferences than outcomes, and that greater attention should be paid to the institutional forms of regional integration agreements.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, Political Economy, and Regional Cooperation

258. The Black Media Entrepreneur and Economic Implications for the 21st Century

Author:
Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
This paper appraises communications as business and examines the impact of new information technology on the productivity of the black entrepreneur (African American (AAs) and African (ABs) mid-scale businesspersons) and provides insights into market conditions in both communities to the mindset of the African entrepreneur and implications for partnership management. Further, it describes the black entrepreneur's access to business information, implications for partnership and a background for strategic planning. Research shows there are potential mutual benefits for African and African American media entrepreneurs, with proper strategic planning and information sharing.
Topic:
Development, Emerging Markets, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
Africa

259. Examining The Defence Industrialization - Economic Growth Relationship:The Case Of Singapore

Author:
Adrian Kuah and Bernard Loo
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
This paper examines the process and political economy of defence industrialization in Singapore. It frames the emergence and evolution of Singapore's defence industrial base in the broader context of both the development of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Singapore's defence and strategic policy since independence. The first half of the paper traces the trajectory of defence industrialization, examining and problematizing the linkages between defence spending and economic development.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Industrial Policy, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Israel and Singapore

260. Industrialization and Urbanization: Did the Steam Engine Contribute to the Growth of Cities in the United States?

Author:
Sukkoo Kim
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of European Studies
Abstract:
Industrialization and urbanization are seen as twin processes of economic development. However, the exact nature of their causal relationship is still open to considerable debate. This paper uses firm-level data from the manuscripts of the decennial censuses between 1850 and 1880 to examine whether the adoption of the steam engine as the primary power source by manufacturers during industrialization contributed to urbanization. While the data indicate that steam-powered firms were more likely to locate in urban areas than water-powered firms, the adoption of the steam engine did not contribute substantially to urbanization.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
United States and Europe