This is the first book to provide detailed analysis of the relationship between higher education and scientific research in key Third World countries. Focusing on four of the most successful of the newly industrializing countries–Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore–the authors examine the intersection between outstanding economic development in these four countries and the higher education and research establishments they have developed. The study combines careful analysis of the current status of scientific research in higher education with detailed ethnographic case studies of scientific work.

Based upon a two-year research effort sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the study presents a multifaceted approach to the subject, evaluating for each country: the organization of the universities and other scientific institutions; the scientists and administrators who work in these institutions; the research productivity and the relationship of basic research to applied uses in industry and commerce; the interactions of these institutions with scholars from Western Europe, Japan, and North America. The authors demonstrate that the nations under study are rapidly building a sophisticated scientific infrastructure and clearly recognize the importance of science for development. The book concludes with an enlightening discussion of how scientists publish their findings in these countries.