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Seoul Journal of Economics
[ Article ]
Seoul Journal of Economics - Vol. 26, No. 3, pp.283-309
ISSN: 1225-0279 (Print)
Print publication date 31 Aug 2013
Received 07 Mar 2013 Revised 06 Jun 2013 Accepted 12 Jun 2013

Sources of Innovation in Developing Economies: Reflections on the Asian Experience

Nathan Rosenberg
Emeritus Professor, Department of Economics, University of Stanford, Economics Bldg 228 Stanford, 94305-6072, California, Tel: +1-650-858-2573 nate@stanford.edu

JEL Classification: O14, O89, O32, O34, O53

Abstract

This article is concerned with the remarkable development of technological and economic capabilities by Korean and Taiwanese firms, particularly in electronics, and Indian firms in software and a few other fields. While the cases differ in many aspects, they all involve active learning, in some cases through reverse engineering, requiring a considerable amount to technical and economic sophistication. All of them also involved selling on sophisticated markets which provided both feedback and pressure to learn rapidly and well. The cases teach us a lot about the mechanisms involved in successful technological and economic catch up.

Keywords:

Innovation, Catch-up, Developing countries, Korea, Taiwan, India

Acknowledgments

I have incurred great debts to Ashish Arora, Naushad Forbes, and Richard Nelson in the preparation of the paper.

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