Policy, economic federalism, and product market entry:the Indian experience

Productivity growth has long been associated with, among other things, contestability of markets which, in turn, is dependent on the ease with which potential competitors to the incumbent firms can enter the product market. There is a growing consensus that in emerging markets regulatory and institutional factors may have a greater influence on a firm's ability to enter a product market than strategic positions adopted by the incumbent firms. We examine this proposition in the context of India where the industrial policies of the 1980s and the 1990s are widely believed to be pro-incumbent and pro-competition, respectively, thereby providing the setting for a natural experiment with 1991 as the watershed year. In our analysis, we also take into consideration the possibility that the greater economic federalism associated with the reforms of the 1990s may have affected the distribution of industrial units across states after 1991. Our paper, which uses the experiences of the textiles and electrical machinery sectors during the two decades as the basis for the analysis, finds broad support for both these hypotheses.

Is China's manufacturing sector becoming more high-tech? Evidence on shifts in comparative advantage, 1987-2005

Purpose – The paper assesses the extent to which China’s comparative advantage in manufacturing has shifted towards higher-tech sectors between 1987 and 2005 and proposes possible explanations for the shift. Design/methodology/approach – Revealed comparative advantage (RCA) indices for 27 product groups, representing high-, medium and low-tech sectors have been calculated. Examination of international market attractiveness complements the RCA analysis. Findings for selected sectors are evaluated in the context of other evidence. Findings – While China maintains its competitiveness in low-tech labour intensive products, it has gained RCA in selected medium-tech sectors (e.g. office machines and electric machinery) and the high-tech telecommunications and automatic data processing equipment sectors. Evidence from firm and sector specific studies suggests that improved comparative advantage in medium and high-tech sectors is based on capabilities developing through combining international technology transfer and learning. Research limitations/implications – The quantitative analysis does not explain the shifts in comparative advantage, though the paper suggests possible explanations. Further research at firm and sector levels is required to understand the underlying capability development of Chinese enterprises and the relative competitiveness of Chinese and foreign invested enterprises. Practical implications – Western companies should take account of capability development in China in forming their international manufacturing strategies. The rapid shifts in China’s comparative advantage have lessons for other industrialising countries. Originality/value – While RCA is a well-known methodology, its application at the disaggregated product group level combined with market attractiveness assessment is distinctive. The paper provides a broad assessment of changes in Chinese manufacturing as a basis for further research on capability development at firm and sector levels.

State intervention in technology in the post war years: case studies in technology policy

This thesis is concerned with the means by which the state in Britain has attempted to influence the technological development of private industry in the period 1945-1979. Particular emphasis is laid on assessing the abilities of technology policy measures to promote innovation. With that objective, the innovation literature is selectively reviewed to draw up an analytical framework to evaluate the innovation content of policy (Chapter 2). Technology policy is taken to consist of the specific measures utilised by government and its agents that affect the technological behaviour of firms. The broad sweep of policy during the period under consideration is described in Chapter 3 which concentrates on elucidating its institutional structure and the activities of the bodies involved. The empirical core of the thesis consists of three parallel case studies of policy toward the computer, machine tool and textile machinery industries (Chapters 4-6). The studies provide detailed historical accounts of the development and composition of policy, relating it to its specific institutional and industrial contexts. Each reveals a different pattern and level of state intervention. The thesis concludes with a comparative review of the findings of the case studies within a discussion centred on the arguments presented in Chapter 2. Topics arising include the state's differential support for the range of activities involved in innovation, the location of state-funded R&D, the encouragement of supplier-user contact, and the difficulties raised in adoption and diffusion.

Design methodology for the servo control of high speed multi-axis machinery (BL): decoupling and synchronisation of a generic machine by blockwise decentralised MIMO control

Traditional machinery for manufacturing processes are characterised by actuators powered and co-ordinated by mechanical linkages driven from a central drive. Increasingly, these linkages are replaced by independent electrical drives, each performs a different task and follows a different motion profile, co-ordinated by computers. A design methodology for the servo control of high speed multi-axis machinery is proposed, based on the concept of a highly adaptable generic machine model. In addition to the dynamics of the drives and the loads, the model includes the inherent interactions between the motion axes and thus provides a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) description. In general, inherent interactions such as structural couplings between groups of motion axes are undesirable and needed to be compensated. On the other hand, imposed interactions such as the synchronisation of different groups of axes are often required. It is recognised that a suitable MIMO controller can simultaneously achieve these objectives and reconciles their potential conflicts. Both analytical and numerical methods for the design of MIMO controllers are investigated. At present, it is not possible to implement high order MIMO controllers for practical reasons. Based on simulations of the generic machine model under full MIMO control, however, it is possible to determine a suitable topology for a blockwise decentralised control scheme. The Block Relative Gain array (BRG) is used to compare the relative strength of closed loop interactions between sub-systems. A number of approaches to the design of the smaller decentralised MIMO controllers for these sub-systems has been investigated. For the purpose of illustration, a benchmark problem based on a 3 axes test rig has been carried through the design cycle to demonstrate the working of the design methodology.