Amsden and Chu demonstrate in a scholarly and readable way how successful latecomers deviate from the prescriptions of the 'Washington consensus' in order to build high-tech industries and services. This is a pathbreaking book that points the way toward a new analysis and policy regime for catching up.
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2001), former Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers (1995-97), and former Chief Economist of the World Bank
As a specialist in first-mover advantages, I can say that this book is a major contribution to the understanding of the evolution of modern industrial enterprises and industries worldwide. For example, it moves the development debate forward by demonstrating empirically and theoretically the importance of salaried managers and large-scale national films in the growth of latecomers' high-tech industries. The concepts of 'second-mover advantage' turns out to be central to their global upgrading.
Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., Isidor Strauss Professor of Business History, Emeritus, Harvard Business School
Out of a detailed case study of Taiwan, Amsden and Chu construct a complex, far-reaching argument about the role of business strategy and governmental policy in late development. Built on a firm foundation of economic and institutional theory and grounded in field interviews with business and bureaucratic actors, it is a strong antidote to neo-liberalism and the belief in economic development as a natural outcome of the free play of market forces. This is one of those rare books which speaks simultaneously to scholars and to practitioners.
Michael J. Piore, David W. Skinner Professor of Political Economy, MIT
Beyond Late Development successfully challenges long-held orthodoxies such as the domination of the Taiwanese economy by small firms, the necessity of foreign ownership in a globalized world, and the reduced role of governments in industrial upgrading. It is an original work of detailed empirical research.
Raphael Kaplinsky, Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
There can be no more significant issue than the diffusion of advanced technologies around the world, and their harnessing by late-developing countires. Amsden and Chu provide powerful insights into how Taiwan has managed this process, bringing the story up to the turn of the century, and demonstrating the applicability of Taiwan's institutions and processes to other countries and regions.
John A. Mathews, Professor of Strategic Management, Macquarie Graduate School of Management, and author of Tiger Technology: The creation of a semiconductor industry in East Asia
Amsden and Chu go far beyond the usual account of Taiwan's success by developing an original theory of mature high-tech industries and demonstrating how Taiwan used new types of goverment support, especially government-owned research istitutes, to upgrade industries. Their book is a great accomplishment that pays tribute to the ingenuity of government, business and labor in moving into high-tech sectors.
Chintay Shih, President. Industrial Technology Research Institutre, and Science & Technology Advisor to the Executive Yuan, Taiwan
