INDUSTRIAL POLICY: Chinese DEBATE to TAIWANESE FOUNDRIES

Abstract

This study explores Chinese realities of industrial policy. These facts attract global interest. They also caused China's Debate of the Century between prominent Chinese economists, Justin Lin and Weiying Zhang. After commenting on this exchange with evidential assessments, three questions are explored for technology-followers: (A) Can industrial policy against market failure also minimize government failure? (B) Can catching-up create win-win outcome by complementarity, rather than substitution? (C) Can leapfrogging trigger global innovation by co-evolution? TSMC from Taiwan suggests affirmative answers for all these three. Although its game-theory basis appears challenging for replication, exceptions may prove rules for further studies.