Innovation in Southeast Asia
The Southeast Asian (SEA) region is one of the most dynamic in the world. It is in a period of transition as its national economies become strongly integrated into global knowledge networks. Science and technology (S&T) offer opportunities for countries to ‘move up the value chain’. A better understanding of existing capabilities helps enhance mutually beneficial S&T and innovation co-operation between SEA and OECD countries.
This review provides a quantitative and qualitative assessment of Southeast Asian countries’ capacity in S&T and innovation. A regional synthesis highlights current performance and intra- and extra-regional knowledge circulation, including flows between the Southeast Asian region and the established centres of knowledge production such as the EU, Japan and the United States. The country profiles describe the dynamics of national innovation systems and their relation to international knowledge flows, taking into account the wider framework conditions for innovation.
Executive summary
Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most dynamic regions. Southeast Asian economies are undergoing rapid changes and becoming ever more closely integrated into fast-evolving regional and global production and knowledge networks. Extending and deepening their capacities in science, technology (S and T) and innovation provides an opportunity for Southeast Asian countries to maximise the benefits of these changes by moving up the value chain, differentiating their economies and contributing to advances in science and technology in order to tackle societal grand challenges. A better understanding of existing capabilities and their dynamics is essential for their future development.