Regional Dynamics and Production Networks: the Development of Electronics Clusters in Malaysia

The resurgence of the American economy especially since the second half of the 1990s, outperforming Japan, have been argued by some as being the result of weaknesses endemic to East Asian growth policies. While East Asia has been riddled with chronic problems of rapid long-term growth, too swift deregulation without the strengthening of legal instruments and inadequate adjustment measures, there is a growing body of literature that argues convincingly that American growth and competitiveness is, inter alia, also driven by a new model of industrial governance (see Best, 1999; Audretch, 1999; Saxenian, 1996). American economic dynamism in the past had benefited from the advent of division of labor and time management advanced by Taylor at the turn of the 20 Century and later the conveyor belt system pioneered by Henry Ford with specialized R&D, production, training and marketing divisions that operated separately until Japanese organizational systems overtook American leadership in industrial management.