The Korean Economic Forum
Industrial Innovation Strategies of the U.S. and Germany and Their Policy Implications
Seeun Jeong (Chungnam National University) and Myungheon Lee (Incheon National University)Year 2020Vol. 13No. 3
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the industrial innovation strategies of the United States and Germany, the leading countries in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to draw policy implications. Needless to say, their case is expected to give us useful implications in that the U.S. and Germany are representative countries leading the change at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution but have different economic systems and have pursued differentiated industrial strategies. In the case of the U.S., we will look at the background of the Obama administration’s push for a manufacturing renaissance policy called “Manufacturing USA,” its contents and achievements, In the case of Germany we will examine how Germany’s comprehensive innovation strategy,“High-Tech Strategy,” has evolved and how the agenda of “Manufacturing 4.0”has expanded. The most notable implication in the strategy of the United States and Germany is the active role of the state. The reason why the state has taken the lead is the need for coordinated responses due to the large changes caused by accelerating technological change.