Asia's New High-Tech Competitors: An SRS Special Report.

This report profiles nine economies linked by Asian identity, yet marked by great economic and technological disparity, in order to project which economies will be full-fledged participants and competitors in tomorrow's high-tech product markets. Based on the various indicators of technological activity and competitiveness presented in this report, several Asian economies stand out. They are apparently headed toward greater prominenced as developers of technology and will become visible competitors in product markets. Japan stands alone as the most advanced industrialized country in the region. Four others--Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan--often referred to as the "four tigers" or as the newly industrialized economies, have made dramatic leaps forward in the global economy over the past decade. The remaining four countries--China, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia--lag far behind these other countries in economic and technological development. Yet each of these four countries has exhibited tremendous growth in terms of economic and technological development. Appendices which comprise half of the document are detailed data tables. (EH)