The Policy of High-Tech Industry Development: The Case of Location Assessment for Biotech Industry Parks in Taiwan

Biotechnology will be the star industry of the 21-super-st century, and will also be one of the main focal areas of Taiwan's future industrial development. Many scholars have suggested that the presence of geographical clusters is an important factor that determines an industry's international competitiveness. As an example of the clustering effect, when high-tech industry was just starting to take off in Taiwan, the establishment of the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park successfully promoted the upgrading of the industrial structure. The goal of this study is to explore the development of an industrial park location selection model for Taiwan's biotech industry, while considering the influence of the clustering effect, with the ultimate intent of promoting the industry's development. Because clustering factors are certainly not necessarily independent, and may entail a feedback effect, this study uses the analytic network process (ANP) multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) model to construct a "biotech park" location selection model, and then determine the optimal location of a biotech park from three alternatives. The results suggest that Taipei City would be the optimal choice for a biotech park. This finding can serve to guide the government's biotech industry development policies. Copyright 2006 by The Policy Studies Organization.