Technology Transfer and International Production

Korea has been at the centre of intense debate concerning the role of government in economic development. Taking an in-depth approach, this book analyses the path of Korea's industrial technology development. In contrast to many previous studies on Korea, the author argues that the role of foreign multinational enterprises has been significant while the government's was surprisingly limited in scope.

The author addresses three main questions:

• How was Korea able to develop so effectively despite the low inflow of foreign technologies and capital?
• What is the role of multinational enterprises in 'teaching' technology to the firms from developing countries?
• What has been the influence of public policy on Korea's technology development?

The author demonstrates that the key to the Korean electronics industry's spectacular growth has been through its participation in and learning from an inter-firm arrangement called 'original equipment manufacturing' (OEM) arrangement, and a number of firm-level case studies support this argument.

This book will be of special interest to scholars of industrial and development economics, innovation and Asian studies. It will also be of use to policymakers responsible for industrial policy development.