Information Technology Parks of the Asia Pacific: Lessons for the Regional Digital Divide

Many developing nations today are establishing information-based technology (IT) parks as their primary strategy for promoting direct foreign investment, technology transfer, research and development, employment, and overall economic growth. These efforts require huge investments in infrastructure and human resources as the developing nations struggle to overcome inequalities in access to digital communications technology. This study compares IT parks in China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hawaii, in search of strategies that policy makers can employ to reduce the Global Digital Divide, advance distributional equity, and soften some of the negative effects of economic globalization. The book explores the objectives of the different national IT policies and the developmental status of the various IT parks, suggests "best practices" based on these cases, and considers the challenges to future IT park developments.