Seoul Journal of Economics
[ Article ]
Seoul Journal of Economics - Vol. 36, No. 1, pp.53-78
ISSN: 1225-0279 (Print)
Print publication date 28 Feb 2023
Received 27 Oct 2022 Revised 11 Jan 2023 Accepted 13 Jan 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22904/sje.2023.36.1.002

5G Kick-off in India and Brazil: InterState Competition, National Systems of Innovation, and Catch-up Implications for the Global South

Manuel Gonzalo ; Maria Paz Harfuch ; Maria Haro Sly ; Pablo Lavarello
Manuel Gonzalo, Corresponding Author, Professor, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Universidad Nacional de Chilecito, Argentine Council for International Relations, Argentina gonzalo.manolo@gmail.com
Maria Paz Harfuch, Mg, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Maria Haro Sly, PhD candidate, Johns Hopkins University, U.S.
Pablo Lavarello, PhD, Centro de Estudios Urbanos y Regionales, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina

JEL Classification: F50, L63

Abstract

This essay presents some main features of the kick-off of 5G in India and Brazil extracting implication for Global South catch-up. Based on some main neo-Schumpeterian contributions on long-waves, long-cycles, and catch-up, attention has been paid to the interstate competition between the US and China, the global pressures and linkages of the Indian and Brazilian National Systems of Innovation, and the development of key infrastructures and productive capabilities by the domestic and multinational firms involved in the kick-off of 5G. Two main Global South cases capturing the interrelated geopolitical and technological tensions of the 21st century transitioning capitalism are discussed.

Keywords:

5G Kick-off, India, Brazil, Interstate Competition, National Systems of Innovation, Catch-up, Global South

References

  • American Enterprise Institute, China Global Investment Tracker, American Enterprise Institute, 2020.
  • ANATEL, A. N. de T., Plano Estrutural de Redes de Telecomunicações—PERT, 2018.
  • Balbo, G., 5G: La guerra tecnológica del siglo: Posicionamiento geopolítico, seguridad internacional y negocios en pugna, Almaluz Editorial SA.
  • Baxi A., State of 4G in India: still leaves a lot to be desired, Autoridad Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones de la India. Último acceso 20 de julio de 2020, 2019.
  • Becard, D. S. and Macedo, B. V. de., “Chinese multinational corporations in Brazil: Strategies and implications in energy and telecom sectors.” Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional 57 (No. 1 2014), 143-161. [https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7329201400108]
  • Bloomberg, India Enters 5G Era as Debt-Laden Carriers Gird to Spend Billions, 2022.
  • BNDES Estudo, Internet das Coisas: Um plano de ação para o Brasil, BNDES, 2022.
  • Business Today, The pursuit of 5G: Reliance Jio’s self-dependent plan, New Delhi, Mar 02, 2020.
  • Cassiolato, J. and Gonzalo, M., “O papel do Estado no desenvolvimento dos sistemas de inovação dos BRICS.” Texto para Discussão - RedeSist Desenvolvimento, Inovação e Território, TD DIT 1 (2015).
  • Cassiolato, J. and Lastres, H., Brazil’s National Innovation System: Its Evolution and Dynamics at the End of the Second Decade of the Millenium, In “BRICS Comprehensive Innovation Competitiveness Report 2020” China Scientific and Technical Information Press, Beijing, 2021.
  • Cassiolato, J., Britto, J. and Bittencourt, P., Sistemas de defesa e esforços inovativos no âmbito dos BRICS: uma análise exploratória, Research Report 26/08, RedeSist -IE-UFRJ, 2008.
  • Cassiolato, J., Podcameni, G. and Szapiro, M., As Fronteiras Tecnológicas nos Sistemas Nacionais de Inovação dos Brics a partir de seus Projetos Nacionais: China, Texto para Discussão – RedeSist 09/2015, Rio de Janeiro, 2015.
  • Congressional Research Service, National Security Implications of Fifth Generation (5G) Mobile Technologies, In FOCUS, 2022.
  • Cui, F., and Liu, G., Global Value Chains and Production Networks. Elsevier, 2019.
  • Da Silveira, J., Há 20 anos no Brasil, Huawei tem 75% dos funcionários locais, People´s Daily (Portuguese), 2019.
  • De Sousa, A., Ferreira Abrão, R., Dos Santos, V., “Entre a subserviência e o pragmatismo: o Brasil perante o 5G.” Oikos 20 (No. 1 2021): 71-92.
  • Deutsche Welle., US Designates Huawei, Four Other Chinese Tech Firms National Security Threats, 13.03.2021.
  • Duffy, C., The big differences between 4G and 5G, CNN Business, 2020.
  • Fiori, J., “Estado e desenvolvimento na América Latina”. Revista de Economia Contemporânea 24 (No. 1 2020): 1-23. [https://doi.org/10.1590/198055272416]
  • Freeman, C., Technical infrastructure and international competitiveness, Draft paper submitted to the OECD Ad hoc-group on Science, technology and competitiveness, 1982.
  • Freeman, C. and Louçã, F., As times goes by. From the industrial revolutions to the information revolution, Oxford University Press, 2001.
  • Freeman, C. and Pérez, C., Structural crises of adjustment, business cycles and investment behavior, In “Technical change and economic theory” Dosi, G., Freeman, C., Nelson, R., Soete, L. and Silverberg, G. (Eds.), Pinter Publishers, 1988.
  • Gonzalo, M., A long-term narrative on India from Latin America: Peripherization, national system of innovation and autonomous expenditures. PhD Thesis. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto de Economia/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 2018.
  • Gonzalo, M., India from Latin America. Peripherisation, Statebuilding, and Demand-Led Growth. Routledge, 2022a. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003091752]
  • Gonzalo, M., Freeman’s broadening contribution revisited: reasoned-history and systemic STI policies from South America to the Global South, Innovation and Development, 12:1, 43-50, 2022b. [https://doi.org/10.1080/2157930X.2021.1930378]
  • Gonzalo, M. and Cassiolato, J.E., “Trayectoria histórica de desarrollo del Sistema Nacional de Innovación de India (1947–2017).” Márgenes Revista de Economía Política, Año III (No. 3 2017).
  • Gonzalo, M. and Harfuch, M., “Economía política de la emergencia del 5G en la India, entre Huawei y los Estados Unidos de América.” Márgenes, Revista de Economía Política 6 (2020): 22-22.
  • Gonzalo, M. and Haro Sly, M. J. “Emergencia del 5G en el Sur Global: India y Brasil entre Estados Unidos de América y China.” OASIS 35 (2022): 255-277. [https://doi.org/10.18601/16577558.n35.13]
  • Gonzalo, M. and Kantis, H., The Indian venture capital emergence, development, and boom: A southern contextualization. Growth and Change., 2021. [https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12495]
  • Gonzalo, M., Federico, J., Parthasarathy, B. and Kantis, H., “Bangalore’s IT entrepreneurial ecosystem: a systemic and evolutionary understanding from Latin America.” Revista Brasileira de Inovação. 21 (2022): 1-38. [https://doi.org/10.20396/rbi.v21i00.8661874]
  • Gonzalo, M., Possas Gomes, E., Von Bochkor Podcameni, M., and Cassiolato, J., State-led Responses to the Indian Energy Challenge: Infrastructure Expenditure, Central Public Sector Enterprises and Electrification. BRICS Policy Center, Policy Papers, vol. 6, nº 1, March. Río de Janeiro, 2019. [https://doi.org/10.48207/23577681/BPCP0601]
  • Government of India, Making India 5G Ready, Report of the 5G High Level Forum, 2018.
  • Haro Sly, M. J., “La política científica y tecnológica de China y la cooperación sino-argentina.” Ciencia, Tecnología y Política 2 (No. 3 2019): 029-029. [https://doi.org/10.24215/26183188e029]
  • Huawei, Huawei inaugura laboratorio de IoT em Sorocaba, Huawei, 2019.
  • Joseph, K., Sarma, M. and Abraham, V., National system of innovation: India, Research Report 27/08, 2008.
  • Kennedy, A. and Lim, D., “The innovation imperative: technology and US–China rivalry in the twenty-first century.” International Affairs 94 (No. 3 2018): 553-572. [https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiy044]
  • Kewalramani, M. and Kanisetti, A., 5G, Huawei & Geopolitics: An Indian Roadmap, Discussion Document 2019-04, 19 June 2019, Takshashila Discussion Document, 2019. [https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3414860]
  • Kondratieff, N. and Stolper, W., “The Long Waves in Economic Life,” Review of Economics and Statistics 17 (No. 6 1935). [https://doi.org/10.2307/1928486]
  • Kuznets, S., “Schumpeter business cycles”, American Economic Review 30 (No. 2 1940): 257-271.
  • Lee, K., The Art of Economic Catch-up: Barriers, Detours and Leapfrogging in Innovation Systems. Cambridge, UK and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2019. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108588232]
  • Lee, K., China´s Technological Leapfrogging and Economic Catch-up: A Schumpeterian Perspective, Oxford University Press, 2021. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192847560.001.0001]
  • Lee, K., and Malerba, F., “Catch-up cycles and changes in industrial leadership: windows of opportunity and responses by firms and countries in the evolution of sectoral systems.” Research Policy 46 (No. 2 2017): 338-351. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2016.09.006]
  • Lee, K., Park, T. and Krishnan, R. T., “Catching-up or Leapfrogging in the Indian IT Service Sector: Windows of Opportunity, Path-creating, and Moving up the Value Chain,” Development Policy Review 32 (No. 4 2014): 495-518. [https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12065]
  • Li, L. “China’s manufacturing locus in 2025: With a comparison of “Made-in-China 2025” and “Industry 4.0”.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 135 (2018): 66-74. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.05.028]
  • List, F., The national system of political economy, English edition (1904). Longman, 1841.
  • Majerowicz, E., A China e a Economia Política Internacional das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação. Discussion Paper 001–2019, Departamento de Economia, Universidade federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 2019.
  • Majerowicz, E. and Medeiros, C., “Chinese industrial policy in the geopolitics of the information age: The case of semiconductors.” Revista de Economia Contemporânea 22 (No. 1 2018): 1-28. [https://doi.org/10.1590/198055272216]
  • Malena, J., Análisis del status de “socio estratégico integral” conferido por la R. P. China a la R. Argentina, Simpósio Electronico Internacional Sobre Política China, 2015.
  • Mandel, E., “Explaining long waves of capitalist development.” Futures 13 (No. 4 1981): 332-338. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-3287(81)90148-8]
  • McIvor, C., Ikeda, S. and Oktaviani, O., 5G Technology - A Demonstration of How Innovation is Political, STEaPP Working Paper Series 3, UCL, 1981.
  • Medeiros, C., “The post-war American technological development as a military enterprise.” Contributions to Political Economy 22 (No. 1 2003): 41-62. [https://doi.org/10.1093/cpe/22.1.41]
  • Medeiros, C., Estratégias nacionais de desenvolvimento, In Santos, M. (ed.), Padrões de Desenvolvimento Econômico (1950-2008): América Latina, Ásia e Rússia’, v. 2. CGEE, 2013.
  • Moraes, G., Telecomunicacoes e o poder global dos EEUU, En O poder americano. Fiori, J. (organizador). Colección Zero a Esquerda, 2004.
  • Nelson, R., The moon and the Ghetto: An essay on policy analysis, W.W. Norton, 1977.
  • Nelson, R., and Winter, S., An evolutionary theory of economic change, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982.
  • Parthasarathy, B., Globalization and agglomeration in newly industrializing countries: the State and the information technology industry in Bangalore, India, PhD Thesis - University of California, Berkeley, 2000.
  • Pérez, C., “Cambio tecnológico y oportunidades de desarrollo como blanco móvil.” Revista de la CEPAL 75 (2001): 115-136. [https://doi.org/10.18356/761d3578-es]
  • Perez, C., and Soete, L., Catching up in technology: entry barriers and windows of opportunity. In Technical Change and Economic Theory (G. Dosi et al., pp. 458-479), London: Francis Pinter, 1988.
  • Porto, T.C., Lee, K. and Mani, S., “The US–Ireland–India in the catch-up cycles in IT services: MNCs, indigenous capabilities and the roles of macroeconomic variables.” Eurasian Bus Rev 11 (2021): 59-82 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-020-00177-3]
  • Qualcomm, What is 5G: Everything You Need to Know About 5G, Qualcomm, 2017.
  • Quartz, Jio has taken another step toward building China-proof 5G for India, Quartz, 2020.
  • Satija, R., India still wary of Huawei’s 5G despite ‘no back door’ pledge, Nikkei Asian Review, 2019.
  • Saxenian, A., “From brain drain to brain circulation: transnational communities and regional upgrading in India and China,” Studies in Comparative International Development 40 (No. 2 2005): 35-61. [https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686293]
  • Scerri, M. and Lastres, H., The role of the state, BRICS, national systems of innovation. Routledge, 2013.
  • Sharma M., India’s Tryst with 5G, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Marzo 20, 2019.
  • Sharma S., “Problems in implementing 5G in India and solutions for it,” International Journal of Management and Applied Science 4 (No. 5 2018).
  • Szapiro, M. and Cassiolato, J., The telecommunications system of innovation in Brazil ten years later, Texto para Discussão, RedeSist, 07/2013. Rio de Janeiro, 2013.
  • Techcrunch, Intel to invest $253.5 million in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms, 2020.
  • Techcrunch, Google and India’s Jio Platforms announce budget Android smartphone JioPhone Next, 2021.
  • TELECO, 3G: 3a Generación de Celulares en Brasil. Teleco, 2020.
  • The Indian Express, 5G in India: A look at which cities have Airtel, Jio’s 5G network, full list of supported devices, 2022.
  • The Wire, 5G Rollout: India Yet to Take Final Call on Chinese Vendors, Says Niti Aayog CEO, 2020.
  • White House, ndo-Pacific Strategy of the United States, 2022.

Web Pages

  • Comrade - https://comtrade.un.org
  • Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) - https://www.cisa.gov/5g
  • Qualcomm - https://www.qualcomm.com/5g/what-is-5g
  • MDIC, Ministerio de Industria, Comercio Exterior y Servicios do Brazil (2020). Comércio Exterior. Available in: http://www.mdic.gov.br/index.php/comercio-exterior