Technology development in Malaysia and the newly industrializing economies: A comparative analysis

Taking the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan Province of China as the reference economies for comparison, the study focuses on the policy lessons for Malaysia in pursuing technology-based economic growth. The key elements examined are human capital, research and development (R&D), science and technology (S&T) parks, foreign technology transfer and government research institutes (GRIs). The analysis shows that the availability of skilled human capital in Malaysia is not sufficient for technological development to progress. The paper makes a number of recommendations to promote technological development in Malaysia.