Evaluating the conditions for China’s 4th Industrial Revolution plan: A neo-Schumpeterian analysis

• Main Author: CHAN, Hing Lee Henry
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2016
• Subjects: 4th Industrial Revolution; high speed rail; SIPO patent; neo-Schumpeterian analysis; Made in China 2025; WIPO patent; Asian Studies; International Economics
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll_all/8; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=etd_coll_all
• Institution: Singapore Management University

After 33 years (1979-2011) of close to double digit average annual economic growth, the Chinese economy decelerated to a mid-high single digit growth of approximately 7% per year since 2012. The country is currently facing the typical economic transition challenge of moving from being a high-middle income to high income economy. In response to this economic transition, the government launched an industrial innovation program that corresponds to the 4th Industrial Revolution in 2015-Made in China 2025, hoping to stabilize and rejuvenate China’s growth momentum through innovation. This thesis examines the pre-conditions for the successful implementation of this plan using the three-levels analysis framework of neo-Schumpeterian Economics -micro, meso, and macro. The thesis examines the rationale of using neo-Schumpeterian Economics in the study, rather than the conventional Solow Model or any of its variants. It also discusses the advantages of using neo-Schumpeterian framework over the New Structural school promoted by prominent Chinese economist, Justin Lin. At the micro-level, the thesis looks at whether the country possesses the necessary human capital, entrepreneurship, innovation, and execution capabilities to implement the plan. For any new industries to succeed in a country, these factors are the necessary micro-level pre-conditions under neo-Schumpeterian Economics.