TY - JOUR
T1 - A hard slog, not a leap frog
T2 - Globalization and sustainability transitions in developing Asia
AU - Rock, Michael
AU - Murphy, James T.
AU - Rasiah, Rajah
AU - van Seters, Paul
AU - Managi, Shunsuke
N1 - Funding Information:
Michael T. Rock is the Harvey Wexler Professor of Economics at Bryn Mawr College in the U.S. His published research focuses on the environment and development in East Asia and on the role of industrial policy in development in Southeast Asia. His work has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, USAID, and the New Industrial Technology Development Organization in the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan. His current projects include work on the impact of MNC firm-based standards on the environmental performance of subsidiaries and their suppliers; firm-based studies of technological learning of indigenous industrial firms in Southeast Asia; and a book on democracy and development in Southeast Asia.
PY - 2009/2
Y1 - 2009/2
N2 - How does globalization influence transitions toward more sustainable socio-technical regimes in the developing world? This paper argues that transformations of regimes, the networks and institutions governing technological and environmental practices in an industry, can be positively influenced by globalization but it depends on how global forces interact with local socio-political landscapes-the political-economic institutions, values, and regulations broadly guiding an economy and its relationship to the environment. We evaluate these relationships through a comparison of two kinds of socio-political landscapes-the neo-liberal export-led development model commonly found in the developing world and the uniquely Asian capitalist developmental state. We first show how the neo-liberal model overemphasizes the power of market forces to facilitate upgrading and more sustainable industrialization. We then argue that capitalist developmental states in East and Southeast Asia have been better able to harness global economic forces for technological and sustainability transitions through an openness to trade and investment and effective public-private institutions able to link cleaner technologies and environmental standards to production activities in firms. We buttress this argument with firm-level evidence showing the evolution of socio-technical regimes in two industries-cement and electronics. The case studies demonstrate how interactions with OECD firms can contribute to environmental technique effects provided the socio-political landscape is amenable to changes in an industry's regime. Ultimately, we find the process of transition to be complex and contingent; a hard slog not a leap frog toward a potentially more sustainable future. We close by considering the limitations on the capitalist developmental state model and with comments about what else needs to be learned about globalization's role in sustainability transitions.
AB - How does globalization influence transitions toward more sustainable socio-technical regimes in the developing world? This paper argues that transformations of regimes, the networks and institutions governing technological and environmental practices in an industry, can be positively influenced by globalization but it depends on how global forces interact with local socio-political landscapes-the political-economic institutions, values, and regulations broadly guiding an economy and its relationship to the environment. We evaluate these relationships through a comparison of two kinds of socio-political landscapes-the neo-liberal export-led development model commonly found in the developing world and the uniquely Asian capitalist developmental state. We first show how the neo-liberal model overemphasizes the power of market forces to facilitate upgrading and more sustainable industrialization. We then argue that capitalist developmental states in East and Southeast Asia have been better able to harness global economic forces for technological and sustainability transitions through an openness to trade and investment and effective public-private institutions able to link cleaner technologies and environmental standards to production activities in firms. We buttress this argument with firm-level evidence showing the evolution of socio-technical regimes in two industries-cement and electronics. The case studies demonstrate how interactions with OECD firms can contribute to environmental technique effects provided the socio-political landscape is amenable to changes in an industry's regime. Ultimately, we find the process of transition to be complex and contingent; a hard slog not a leap frog toward a potentially more sustainable future. We close by considering the limitations on the capitalist developmental state model and with comments about what else needs to be learned about globalization's role in sustainability transitions.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.techfore.2007.11.014
DO - 10.1016/j.techfore.2007.11.014
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:58149391766
SN - 0040-1625
VL - 76
SP - 241
EP - 254
JO - Technological Forecasting and Social Change
JF - Technological Forecasting and Social Change
IS - 2
ER -