سیاست‌های مالی در زمینه نوآوری برای توسعه کارآفرینی- در مورد کشورهای سنگاپور و تایوان به‌عنوان اقتصادهای آسیایی در حال توسعه صنعتی

This paper is concerned with the innovation financing policies for entrepreneurial development of Singapore and Taiwan, the first tier countries/newly industrializing economies (NIEs) in Asia. In particular, the study focuses on the venture capital and capital market funding policies. The study has shown that the government intervention model is successful in Singapore and Taiwan as a result of having clear cut agencies responsible for carrying out policy implementation. Both countries also have stock markets for high-tech industries with flexible market-entry regulations to support technology development. The study offers empirical reasons on effective innovation financing policies to support the national economic development.

Innovation financing policies play an increasing role in contributing to the entrepreneurial, venture and economic development of the nation. This paper is concerned with the innovation financing policies to support entrepreneurial development in Singapore and Taiwan. Given that few studies have examined the policies that are essential for creating an enabling environment for innovation in the Asian countries, it would therefore be useful to focus on the innovation policies of Singapore and Taiwan, the first tier countries/newly industrializing economies (NIEs) in Asia. Singapore and Taiwan are selected as country cases because both countries have been very successful in developing their technological capabilities whereby the government plays an important role in guiding science and technology (S&T) capability development as part of the national economic development strategy. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews the theoretical framework on venture capital financing, capital market financing and policies to support entrepreneurial and economic development. Section 3 describes the research design and methods. Section 4 analyzes the policies to strengthen the innovation capacities of Singapore and Taiwan. Section 5 concludes the paper by drawing lessons and proposing recommendations to improve policy efficiency and effectiveness. Avenue for further research is also recommended.

This study explores the innovation financing policies to support entrepreneurial development in the first-tier countries/the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) of Singapore and Taiwan. The results have shown an important role of the government in guiding policies to build up the national innovative capabilities. Singapore and Taiwan have effective financial schemes in place to encourage innovation development. Most VC funds are set up with the government co-funding and managed directly by the government agencies or government linked companies. Singapore and Taiwan have the most vibrant VC industry since the policy makers use VC as a policy instrument to mobilize entrepreneurship. Both countries successfully developed the VC market by establishing close connection with US Silicon Valley (efficient networks with firms in the US Silicon Valley are the most important factors for the prosperity of Singapore and Taiwan). They also have the capital markets established equivalent to US NASDAQ to support high-tech start-ups. The results reveal that Singapore and Taiwan have systematic policy formulation and implementation. Various policies/schemes including VC financing were implemented in Singapore to encourage investments gearing towards innovation diffusion and development of innovative capabilities. Singapore's success is due in part to its adoption of the US model and making appropriate changes to suit its environment. Singapore also has effective financial regulations (lightly regulated and free capital mobility) to promote entrepreneurship. The government of Singapore has played a key role in the development of the national innovation system. The Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) and the 2011–2015 R&D budget both emphasize importance of commercialization of technology through channels such as industry collaboration, creating intellectual property and bringing innovations to market. In the case of Taiwan, the government plays a strong role in formulating policies for innovation and technology development. The government has been successful in supporting high technology start-ups through government funding. Taiwan has successfully built its innovation economies based on the well-planned industrial policies and the strong science and technology (S&T) infrastructure to support its technology-based businesses. The results from this study could partly fill a gap in existing research of the innovation policy studies. The analysis and discussions are focused on the country cases of Singapore and Taiwan, the most successful countries in Asia to provide lessons of effective innovation financing schemes to support entrepreneurial development. The present research uses the case study analysis to gather deeper understanding of the innovation financing policies and institutional interactions among constituent organizations. However, given that the first tier countries/newly industrializing economies (NIEs) comprise Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea whereas the second tier ones comprise Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, further research using more countries (using more country cases of both first tier and second tier economies in the future research study) would give further confirmation on the validity of the approach. The future work using the statistical analysis via multivariate lens would provide more robust analytical results to confirm the results of this study.