Not long ago, Singapore's education minister, Teo Chee Hean, articulated his government's long-held desire to build a "world class" higher education establishment as an underpinning for its "knowledge economy."

Teo makes the argument that "in a knowledge economy, intellectual capital is a prized resource," and points out that universities are the central institution in creating and maintaining a highly educated population. He aspires to make Singapore the "Boston of the East," pointing out that the Boston area's unparalleled network of academic, scientific and high-tech entrepreneurial resources have given it worldwide leadership in higher education and in industries such as biotechnology and informatics, which are so dependent on knowledge.

Singapore is not alone in aspiring to use the knowledge economy as a means of economic growth. For example, South Korea's recently announced "Brain Korea 21" program has similar aims. Asian countries have invested heavily in higher education and research, with mixed results. The links between universities and technology industries at Hsinchu in Taiwan, begun two decades ago, proved to be quite successful. Japan's Tsukuba University has had more mixed results. Peking and Tsinghua universities in Beijing have also linked with high-tech industries, and there is talk of merging the two institutions.