Parallelism and evolution in transnational policy transfer networks: the case of Sino-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP)

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the policy transfer process and outcomes outside the occidental context. It extends the voluntary transnational policy transfer framework with an evolutionary perspective and a scalar understanding of space and power at the subnational level. When the Sino-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), a government-to-government collaboration in promoting industrial development, was studied, it was revealed that two parallel policy transfer networks were developed in the early days of the SIP, which were embedded in different scales of governance and pursuing divergent targets. Their relationship affected the policy transfer outcomes for the SIP, and reveals the important governance and temporal dimensions in transnational policy transfers.

KEYWORDS:

• transnational policy transfer
• policy transfer network
• politics of scale
• Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP)
• China
• Singapore

JEL:

• O38
• O53
• P26
• R58

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Julie T. Miao https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2164-9074

Notes

1. Interview with the Torch Centre, 27 October 2014.

2. Interview with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise, 16 July 2015.

3. Interview, 23 June 2015.

4. Interview, 25 June 2015.

5. Interview, 27 October 2014.

6. Interview, 17 June 2015.

7. Interview, 14 July 2015.

8. Interview, 8 June 2015.

9. Interview, 8 June 2015.

10. Interview, 17 June 2016.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the British Academy [grant number SG140879].