The Venture Capital State investigates the diffusion of the globally acclaimed Silicon Valley venture capital (VC) policy model. The spread of this model has been ubiquitous, with at least 45 states across a range of countries, in terms of geography, culture, and size, attempting to build local VC markets. In contrast to the transcendent exuberance for VC, policymakers in each and every state have implemented a distinct set of policies. Even states of similar population and economic sizes that are geographically and culturally proximate, and at comparable levels of industrialization, have not ... More

The Venture Capital State investigates the diffusion of the globally acclaimed Silicon Valley venture capital (VC) policy model. The spread of this model has been ubiquitous, with at least 45 states across a range of countries, in terms of geography, culture, and size, attempting to build local VC markets. In contrast to the transcendent exuberance for VC, policymakers in each and every state have implemented a distinct set of policies. Even states of similar population and economic sizes that are geographically and culturally proximate, and at comparable levels of industrialization, have not implemented similar policies. This book explains why: policymakers are “contextually rational” in their learning; their context-rooted norms shape preferences, underpinning their distinct valuations of studied models. The normative context of those learning about the policy – how they see themselves and what they deem as locally appropriate – informs their design. Findings are based upon deep investigations of VC policymaking in an East Asian cluster of states: Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. These states’ VC successes reflects their ability to effectively adapt the highly-lauded model for their local context, not their policymakers’ approximation of the Silicon Valley policy model.