Opportunities for Latecomer Technological Catch-Up in the Era of Renewables Capitalism: Possible Pathways Out of the Periphery

The Debate section asks whether developing countries can leverage the transition to renewables capitalism to escape their peripheral status in the global economy. This contribution focuses on how capitalism, and thus also renewables capitalism, creates windows of opportunity during periods of disruptive technological change and how latecomer countries can exploit these windows for technological catch-up; it suggests possible pathways out of the periphery that have been downplayed or overlooked in the development studies literature. The authors argue that successfully leveraging windows of opportunity requires three interconnected dynamics: (1) local firms must access and assimilate foreign knowledge through transnational networks; (2) firms must use this knowledge base for innovation while securing adequate market demand and financing to scale production and reduce costs; and (3) governments must provide strategic support through targeted industrial policies. The article makes a novel contribution to the debate on technological catch-up in development studies by demonstrating that all three dynamics are not only important but necessary for technological catch-up. It illustrates this argument through two industry case studies from the more distant past (South Korea and Taiwan in semiconductors) and the more recent past (China in electric vehicles). Its insights can inform strategies regarding the windows of opportunity related to green decarbonization technologies which will inevitably arise under renewables capitalism.