Taiwan, once one of the world's leading manufacturing economies, is now transforming into a service economy, with an emphasis on knowledge-based services. This metamorphosis has not been easy. As well as major changes in the industrial sector, human resource and policy development have been required, the experiences and implications of which are addressed in this book. Although Taiwan is only in the initial stage of transition from a material- or capital-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, the process has already provided valuable lessons to be learnt. The ramification of transformations in manufacturing, agriculture, finance, services, and the information technology industry are examined and discussed.Tain-Jy Chen and Joseph S. Lee go on to reveal the problems and difficulties that Taiwan has encountered in creating itself a new knowledge based economy, including its outmoded service sector, the inability of businesses to pursue global production and services, and the lack of capacity to create knowledge and to innovate. Providing a discernible insight into the transformation of one of the most prominent newly industrialized countries into a knowledge-based economy, this book will greatly appeal to academics, researchers, and those with a specific interest in knowledge management or Asian economies, as well as to economic analysts.