Taiwan received the highest composite score of the eight Asian economies (both NIEs and EAEs), with strong ratings for each of the variables. (See figure 6-27.) The lowest score among the NIEs was accorded to Hong Kong. This is not surprising, considering its traditional reliance on entrepreneurial expertise rather than on formally conducted R& D. In addition, its comparatively smaller population may have played some part in its low score since numbers of trained scientists and engineers and the size of the attendant R& D enterprise are compared with countries with much larger populations in the region. (Click here for footnote 67.) However, even though Singapore's population is smaller than Hong Kong's, Singapore's extensive national investments in information technology and its prominence in the region as a computer manufacturer more than compensated for any population bias and lifted its score above that for Hong Kong.
Among the EAEs, China and India have the highest rated technological infrastructures. China scored well on each of the variables, but distanced itself from the other EAEs by virtue of its comparatively large purchases of computer equipment. India's relatively high score rested on the strength of its large number of trained scientists and engineers and their many contributions to the S& T knowledge base. On the other hand, Indonesia's large population did not save it from the bottom ranking with low scores on each of the variables that make up this indicator.
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