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Late industrialisation and global value chains under platform capitalism

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  • Wim Naudé

    (RWTH Aachen University
    University of Johannesburg)

Abstract

The digital (or 4th industrial) revolution has made industrialisation harder by being less consequential for structural transformation than was initially hoped. The rise of digital platform capitalism and its relation to global value chains (GVCs) is responsible for this. This paper explains why diminished expectations of the 4th industrial revolution are justified and how this is due to digital platforms as intellectual monopolies that are reconfiguring GVCs—and by this, making industrialisation harder. As such, the paper contributes to the research lacuna on the relationship between GVCs and digital platform capitalism. The implications for late industrialisation are identified, and broad recommendations for industrial policies are made.

Suggested Citation

  • Wim Naudé, 2023. "Late industrialisation and global value chains under platform capitalism," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 50(1), pages 91-119, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:epolin:v:50:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s40812-022-00240-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s40812-022-00240-2
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Digitisation; Digital platforms; GVCs; Industrialisation; Competition policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods

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