Technology Competitiveness And The State

This article discusses the relationship between technology competitiveness and the state in Malaysia. It argues that, in order for Malaysia to maintain its technological development, the state must play a significant role in supporting innovation.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Malaysia's remarkable economic performance has attracted attention around the world and been subject to much study and enthusiastic acclaim. However, in the wake of the late-1990s financial crisis, the debate has centred on whether this impressive growth rate can be sustained. As the economy moves beyond growth based on low labour costs and other factor-endowed advantages, industrial technology development becomes increasingly critical to continued growth. This volume, and its companion, Industrial Technology Development in Malaysia , examine and evaluate Malaysian industrialization in terms of its experience of and prospects for industrial technology development. The focus is on the role played by state-sponsored innovation in the process economic development and in the context of national development strategies. The work provides an analysis of the technological development of a newly industrializing country and reflects on whether existing development strategies can be maintained in the wake of the financial crises sweeping the East Asian economies