Venture Capital Policy Research Articles

A Test of Herd Theory: The Number of Lobbyists and the Venture Capital Loan Policy

This report examines the relationship between selected interest group lobbying efforts and a venture capital policy used by the American states to promote economic development. Using discriminant analysis, two different sets of interest group lobbying efforts are used to predict the presence of the policy groups. Results indicate that the most common efforts are essentially equal to the least common lobbying efforts at predicting the presence of the policy groups despite the former having fewer members. In addition, the percentage of correctly classified states does not increase as it should according to the traditional theories of interest group behavior. Furthermore, the results do not appear to be unique to this policy because similar results were mapped for five other economic development policies. Given this, it is plausible that interest groups engage in herd behavior, thus explaining why the differences among organized interests do not vary in predicting the six policies.

Venture capital programmes in the UK and Germany: In what sense regional policies?

Sunley P., Klagge B., Berndt C. and Martin R. (2005) Venture capital programmes in the UK and Germany: in what sense regional policies?, Regional Studies 39 , 255–273. The paper considers how far and in what ways venture capital policies in the UK and Germany have been constructed as regional policy interventions. It begins by explaining two justifications for adding a regional dimension to venture capital policy and outlines the development of such policy in the two states. It explains the contrasting policy regimes and the means of intervention employed. Despite their marked differences, venture capital policies in both states are regionalized to only a limited degree. However, the uneven regional operations and effects of such policies are likely to produce an unintended regionalization of outcomes that may contradict the aims of closing regional disparities in risk finance and entrepreneurialism.

Taiwan'S Venture Capital

This paper investigates Taiwan's venture capital (VC) policies and the overall impact of VC on Taiwan's economy. The government of Taiwan, like those of Singapore and South Korea, has been actively involved in encouraging domestic VC. The effects of the government's VC policies in Taiwan are apparent not only in the multiplier effect, measured by an output/input ratio, but also in the composition of VC investments, which have come to focus much more on technology-intensive industries than have those in Japan or Hong Kong, where governments have made no special contribution to VC development. However, this paper also explores possible future alternatives to Taiwan's current VC policies.