Encouraging knowledge-intensive industries: what Australia can draw from the industrial upgrading experiences of Taiwan and Singapore

John Mathews argues that in the Asia-Pacific region, some outstanding successes have been registered in advanced technological fields. The case of Taiwan, which has risen to become the world's third largest producer of IT hardware and fourth largest producer of semiconductors, is striking. Singapore too has grown from a poverty stricken former colony to a technology powerhouse, based on judicious attraction of multinational investment and relentless attention to industrial upgrading.