Sustaining High-Tech Leadership in a Fragmenting World
Selected Issues Papers, August 7, 2026
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Nina Budina, Karen Coulibaly, Shinya Kotera, Santiago G Previde, Iglika Vassileva
- Published: August 7, 2026
- Series: Selected Issues Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229055468.018
Summary
- The high-tech sector in the Netherlands is an important source of growth, supported by innovation-driven ecosystems, globally competitive firms, and deep integration into global value chains (GVCs).
- Openness exposes the sector—especially high-tech manufacturing—to concentrated value-chain supply and demand shocks.
- Domestic bottlenecks in labor, grid capacity, permitting, and some aspects of scale-up finance weigh on the sector’s growth.
- Sustaining high-tech leadership will require easing domestic bottlenecks, leveraging deeper EU integration to support scaling, and strengthening resilience.
Key findings
- High-tech sector is a major growth engine due to innovation-driven ecosystems and globally competitive firms.
- Deep integration into global value chains increases exposure to concentrated supply and demand shocks, with high-tech manufacturing particularly vulnerable.
- Domestic constraints identified as binding on growth:
- Labor shortages and skills bottlenecks.
- Grid capacity limitations.
- Permitting delays.
- Shortcomings in aspects of scale-up finance.
Policy recommendations
- Ease domestic bottlenecks:
- Address labor-market and skills constraints to support sector expansion.
- Upgrade grid capacity and streamline permitting processes to remove infrastructure and regulatory barriers.
- Improve access to scale-up finance addressing identified shortcomings.
- Leverage deeper EU integration:
- Use EU-level integration to support firm scaling and market access.
- Strengthen resilience:
- Reduce vulnerability to concentrated value-chain supply and demand shocks through diversification and other resilience-building measures.
Subjects and keywords
- Subjects: Economic sectors, Exports, Global value chains, Globalization, International trade, Manufacturing
- Keywords: economic growth, Europe, Exports, Global, Global value chains, high-tech leadership, High-tech sector, IMF country, IMF staff, industrial policy, innovation, issues paper, Manufacturing, supply chain vulnerabilities
Source: "Sustaining High-Tech Leadership in a Fragmenting World" by Nina Budina, Karen Coulibaly, Shinya Kotera, Santiago G Previde, Iglika Vassileva, August 7, 2026 — https://www.imf.org/en/publications/selected-issues-papers/issues/2026/08/07/sustaining-high-tech-leadership-in-a-fragmenting-world-578675
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