Odd Lots How to Make the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Boom Again
May 3, 2021
Alex Williams, a research analyst at Employ America, and Hassan Khan, a tech procurement expert with a PhD in semiconductor policy, dive into the challenges facing the U.S. semiconductor industry. They discuss the critical need for government intervention to revitalize manufacturing and enhance supply chain resilience. Insightful thoughts on historical context reveal how past decisions impact today's competitiveness. The duo explores innovative policy proposals and the essential collaboration needed among stakeholders to ignite a new era for American chip production.
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Coordination and Redundancy
- Coordinated R&D in the 90s helped US firms, but reduced redundancy.
- Shrinking the semi-cap market created a vulnerability.
Japan's Rise and Fall
- Japan's MITI drove industrial policy, setting targets and forcing collaborations, leading to temporary gains.
- However, Japan's economy stagnated, hindering long-term dominance.
Setting Targets
- Industrial policy is effective for catch-up, but frontier innovation requires target setting.
- Science policy is crucial for imagining these unseen targets.