The Taiwan government is planning to spend NT$36 billion (US$1.12 billon) over the next nine years as part of its Productivity 4.0 project to elevate Taiwan’s status in the global supply chain, Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou said recently.

Over the period, the government will spend NT$4 billion (US$124.4 million) each year on electronics/information technology, metals, transportation, machinery, foodstuffs, textiles, distribution and agriculture, helping to build smart factories to realize massive but diversified production, Ma said.

It is hoped that by 2024, the per capita productivity of Taiwan’s manufacturing industries will have grown 60% compared with last year to NT$10 million (US$310,900), said the president.

Now, if I were a betting man (which I’m not) I would put money on failure … though I hope I’m wrong. Government’s job is to build infrastructure (especially the right macroeconomic climate) and then ‘get out of the way.