OECD Trade Policy Papers
This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected trade policy studies prepared for use within the OECD.
NB. No. 1 to No. 139 were released under the previous series title OECD Trade Policy Working Papers.
- ISSN: 18166873 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18166873
Trade and Innovation in the Korean Information and Communication Technology Sector
Trade and Innovation Project - Case Study No. 5
This paper is one of five case studies which is a part of a larger project looking at the various
effects that trade and investment can have on innovation. This paper studies the effect of trade and
investment liberalisation on Korea’s Information and communication technology (ICT) sector and finds
that trade and investment have played a crucial role in innovation in the sector. In the initial stages of
development, imported capital goods and components, joint ventures, licensing and Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) contracts were important sources of technology and exports were key to gain the
necessary economies of scale for innovation. Free trade and investment policies in the 1990s and stronger
protection of intellectual property rights have led to an increase in R&D and innovation and has led to the
transformation of Korea into a knowledge based economy in the recent decade.
Keywords: ICT, Information Technology Agreement, trade reform, intellectual property rights, patents, information and communication technologies, innovation, Korea
JEL:
O: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth
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