This paper inquires how the concept of the "learning economy" can be applied to the requirements of developing countries. The main purpose is to develop an analytical framework to better understand how learning and capability formation can foster industrial upgrading. Special emphasis is given...

This paper addresses a puzzle related to firm size and competition. Since Stephen Hymer´s pioneering contribution (Hymer, 1960/1976), theories of the firm implicitly assume that only large, diversified multinational enterprises can compete in industries that combine high capital intensity, high...

It has been argued that “… trade adjustment in East Asia…will be rapid and sizable, lifting aggregate growth in these economies even as the domestic non-tradable sectors continue to suffer a decline (as in Mexico)” (World Bank, 1998, p.5). Much hope has been pinned on the electronics...

This paper addresses a puzzle: How is it possible that a country that has established a broad, export-oriented industrial base at record speed, remains vulnerable to the vicissitudes of international finance and currency markets? I argue that the Korean model that was tremendously successful for...

The focus of this paper is on the evolution of international production by Japanese electronics firms. In the first two parts, I trace the development of Japanese production networks in Asia through three different periods. Each of these periods reflects fundamentally different strategic...

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the spread of different international production networks in East Asia has affected the trade links of the region with the U.S. and Japan. We concentrate on one particular aspect, i.e. changes in the product composition of U.S. and Japanese electronics...

This paper addresses two puzzles related to industrial dynamics and competition. The first of these puzzles is that a high degree of globalization may well go hand in hand with increasing concentration. I show that one of the most globalized sectors of the electronics industry, hard disk drives...