This study provides a comparative analysis of the economic growth and design competences of Taiwan, Singapore, Finland, and South Korea, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods to provide an inclusive assessment of each country’s performance in economic development, R&D expenditure, and technological output. We integrate economic indicators such as GDP per capita, adjusted for R&D strength, and Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), alongside the analysis of patents granted per capita. Data were sourced from reputable organizations like the IMF and OECD, ensuring reliability through data triangulation and statistical validation using correlation and regression models. The results highlight significant differences in economic trajectories and design capabilities. Singapore's growth is driven by multinational corporations and substantial government investment in infrastructure and education, yet it lags in R&D intensity. South Korea's economic success is fueled by large conglomerates (Chaebols) with substantial private sector R&D expenditure. Taiwan excels in patenting but has moderate publication output, indicating strong capacity in converting technical knowledge into commercial innovations. Finland's innovation landscape is heavily influenced by Nokia, which dominates its patent output. The study concludes that while all four countries show consistent growth in quantitative indices, distinct paths in developing design capabilities are evident, with significant differences in the role of private versus public sector investment and the impact of multinational corporations on national innovation landscapes.
Keywords
Economic Growth, Research and Development Expenditure, Purchasing Power Parity, GDP Per Capita, Commercial Innovation.
P. J. Klenow and A. Rodríguez-Clare, “The neoclassical revival in growth Economics: Has it gone too far?,” NBER Macroeconomics Annual, vol. 12, pp. 73–103, Jan. 1997, doi: 10.1086/654324.
M. Dell, B. F. Jones, and B. A. Olken, “What Do We Learn from the Weather? The New Climate-Economy Literature,” Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 740–798, Sep. 2014, doi: 10.1257/jel.52.3.740.
W. G. Gale, “Fiscal policy with high debt and low interest rates,” MPRA Paper, Jan. 2019, [Online]. Available: https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/99207.html.
J. Fagerberg and M. Srholec, “National innovation systems, capabilities and economic development,” Research Policy, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. 1417–1435, Oct. 2008, doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2008.06.003.
S. T. M. Peek et al., “Older Adults’ Reasons for Using Technology while Aging in Place,” Gerontology, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 226–237, Jun. 2015, doi: 10.1159/000430949.
F. S. Collins, E. D. Green, A. E. Guttmacher, and M. S. Guyer, “A vision for the future of genomics research,” Nature, vol. 422, no. 6934, pp. 835–847, Apr. 2003, doi: 10.1038/nature01626.
M. Leach, R. Mearns, and I. Scoones, “Environmental Entitlements: Dynamics and Institutions in Community-Based Natural Resource Management,” World Development, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 225–247, Feb. 1999, doi: 10.1016/s0305-750x(98)00141-7.
L. Berchicci, “Towards an open R&D system: Internal R&D investment, external knowledge acquisition and innovative performance,” Research Policy, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 117–127, Feb. 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2012.04.017.
A. Aristovnik, “THE RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF EDUCATION AND R&D EXPENDITURES IN THE NEW EU MEMBER STATES,” Journal of Business Economics and Management, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 832–848, Oct. 2012, doi: 10.3846/16111699.2011.620167.
S. A. Meo, A. a. A. Masri, A. M. Usmani, A. N. Memon, and S. Z. Zaidi, “Impact of GDP, Spending on R&D, Number of Universities and Scientific Journals on Research Publications among Asian Countries,” PLoS ONE, vol. 8, no. 6, p. e66449, Jun. 2013, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066449.
D. Archibugi and A. Coco, “Is Europe becoming the most dynamic knowledge economy in the world?,” JCMS Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 433–459, Sep. 2005, doi: 10.1111/j.0021-9886.2005.00564.x.
M. Ragnedda and H. Kreitem, “The three levels of digital divide in East EU countries,” World of Media, vol. 1, no. 4, Dec. 2018, doi: 10.30547/worldofmedia.4.2018.1.
J. A. Schumpeter, “The Analysis of Economic Change,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 17, no. 4, p. 2, May 1935, doi: 10.2307/1927845.
R. Gilbert, “Looking for Mr. Schumpeter: Where are we in the Competition--Innovation debate?,” Innovation Policy and the Economy, vol. 6, pp. 159–215, Jan. 2006, doi: 10.1086/ipe.6.25056183.
R. Evangelista, “Technology and Economic Development: The Schumpeterian Legacy,” Review of Radical Political Economics, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 136–153, Feb. 2017, doi: 10.1177/0486613416666565.
M. D. P. Legrand and H. Hagemann, “BUSINESS CYCLES, GROWTH, AND ECONOMIC POLICY: SCHUMPETER AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION,” Journal of the History of Economic Thought, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 19–33, Dec. 2016, doi: 10.1017/s1053837216001048.
A. Chong and C. Calderón, “Institutional quality and income distribution,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 761–786, Jul. 2000, doi: 10.1086/452476.
CRediT Author Statement
The author reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Acknowledgements
Authors thank Reviewers for taking the time and effort necessary to review the manuscript.
Funding
No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Availability of data and materials
No data available for above study.
Author information
Contributions
All authors have equal contribution in the paper and all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Shin Aera
Master of Arts in International Studies, Korea University, Seoul Campus, Seongbuk District, Seoul, South Korea.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivs is a more restrictive license. It allows you to redistribute the material commercially or non-commercially but the user cannot make any changes whatsoever to the original, i.e. no derivatives of the original work. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Cite this article
Shin Aera, “Economic Growth and Design Capability: A Comparative Study of Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Finland”, Journal of Enterprise and Business Intelligence, vol.5, no.2, pp. 086-097, April 2025. doi: 10.53759/5181/JEBI202505009.
