THE FOOLHARDY QUEST FOR A EUROPEAN GOOGLE

Policymakers concerned with the question of economic competitiveness would do well to think of ways to increase the integration of their regions into global value chains, rather than aiming to create home-grown ones. The latter point is particularly relevant for the ongoing policy debate outside the US, especially in Europe, in terms of the necessity to breed home-grown Googles and Apples. The unrelenting desire of European policymakers to create European Googles and Apples has eclipsed the continent's enormous success over the past decade in terms of plugging itself into emerging global value chains in ICT, while preserving its traditional home-grown global value chains in automotive, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aviation, and luxury products.