Leiden University Student Repository

Tideman, Laurens (2018)

Market Liberalization versus Market Protectionism: The Role of Government in Silicon Valley and China’s Technology Sector

Master thesis | International Relations (MA)

This thesis focuses on Silicon Valley and China to understand what elements have made Silicon Valley and China’s technology sectors so successful, and to what degree they are different. Specifically, it will focus on the role of the government in shaping the respective markets. The American and Chinese view of the government’s role in economic development differs both in theory and practice. The U.S. traditionally advocated for a liberal free-market view of the economy, with the government having a facilitating role. In contrast, true to its socialist ideology, China has advocated a strong role of the government in the economy, where the government principally takes on a controlling and planning role. While in theory these views are at the opposite side of the spectrum between freedom from the state versus control by the state, in practice there are variations and exceptions. The goal of this thesis is to provide further insight on these similarities and differences through a case...Show moreThis thesis focuses on Silicon Valley and China to understand what elements have made Silicon Valley and China’s technology sectors so successful, and to what degree they are different. Specifically, it will focus on the role of the government in shaping the respective markets. The American and Chinese view of the government’s role in economic development differs both in theory and practice. The U.S. traditionally advocated for a liberal free-market view of the economy, with the government having a facilitating role. In contrast, true to its socialist ideology, China has advocated a strong role of the government in the economy, where the government principally takes on a controlling and planning role. While in theory these views are at the opposite side of the spectrum between freedom from the state versus control by the state, in practice there are variations and exceptions. The goal of this thesis is to provide further insight on these similarities and differences through a case-study based analysis of both Silicon Valley and China's tech sector.Show less

technology hubs

government

market liberalization

silicon valley

statism

china

Author

Tideman, Laurens

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Global Political Economy

Supervisors

Gonzalez Vicente, Ruben

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en