Taiwan's Experience in Switching Its Engines of Growth

Taiwan became a leading worldwide manufacturer of computer hardware in the 1990s. The purpose of this paper is to review the process that led to the birth and growth of Taiwan's information-communication technology (ICT) industries. We further discuss such factors as research and development, high-tech human capital, venture capital, financial liberalization, and telecommunications liberalization, which have contributed to the success of the ICT industries and the shift in the economy from labor-intensive to capital-intensive and technology-intensive production. Copyright (c) 2002 Center for International Development and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.