Tracing the Convergence of Industrial Sectors: Has the 4th Revolution Arrived Already? Or Are We on the Track?

While an increasing number of people across diverse audience groups are engaging in discussions about the onset of the 4th industrial revolution, it remains challenging to pinpoint the symptoms of this phenomenon. This research, recognizing this difficulty, employed a time-series data-tuned cluster analysis to uncover evidence of industrial and technological convergence among the United States, Japan, and Korea by using time-series industrial R&D data and industrial wage data as indirect measures of industrial competitiveness and technology convergence. The results showed that the recent U.S. case of 2010-2019 data clearly featured the" phenomenon Tesla", which shows the convergence of Aerospace, Transportation equipment, and software. Supporting evidence for that comes from the results from the previous periods in the three countries, which shows a high concentration of cor manufacturing sectors, but no symptoms of convergence.