Information Technology Parks of the Asia Pacific

Berglund Authority Level 3

by Jeffrey Barlow <barlowj@pacificu.edu>

Jussawalla, Meheroo, and Richard D. Taylor. Information Technology Parks of the Asia Pacific. M. E. Sharpe, 2003.

Full Disclosure practices require that I open this review by acknowledging that I am a Friend of the East-West Center, which co-sponsored this book, and an editor for another series for M.E. Sharpe which published it. I am also acquainted with Meheroo Jussawalla, whom I met in June in Honolulu when the East-West Center hosted the annual conference of the Association for Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast (ASPAC) of which I am the webmaster and outgoing president. This might seem to be a great many conflicts of interest for a reviewer but, fortunately, this is a very useful work and the credentials of the editors and various authors are impeccable ones.

The title implies a very technical and dry work which might be of interest to very few readers. However, if you are interested in the development of Informational Technology (I.T.), international economic development, or the digital divide (whether viewed as one between nations or between economic groups within nations) this will prove an interesting and useful work. Each chapter has copious notes and can serve as an introduction to broader research on the topic it covers.

The work discusses the development of I.T. parks in the nations of China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the I.T. park at Kapolei in Hawaii as well. The work covers the history of the development of each of these, considered within the national economies and political and economic strategies of the nations involved, and in that sense is an introduction to this topic over a great area of the world. This portion of the world, it might also be noted, with the exception of Hawaii, enjoyed a collective growth rate of 7% in 2001.

As a key element in the development of technology parks is partnerships with global corporations, we also learn a great deal about the growth and development strategies of a number of the world's largest corporations. Behind all of these issues, of course, is the overarching factor of globalization.

The shortcoming of this book is the shortcoming of each book of this type, an edited collection on a fast-moving topic. While each of the chapters seems useful, some are easier reading than others. As well, changes are occurring so rapidly in the I.T. field that some chapters already seem relatively dated. However, the history of the parks and the overall analysis of the underlying issues will not soon be superceded. At present, this is clearly the best book available covering these many topics.

Jeffrey Barlow
Editor, Interface.