Abstract
Trends in the rapid development of the semiconductor and FPD industries in East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan are described in terms of technology, investment and interdependence, and its effects on the supporting industries via geographic locations and agglomeration. The two sectors based on the silicon processing technology and share many features such as large plant investments and geographic concentration. In East Asia, development of these sectors as world-class production centers has prompted evolution of the supporting industries, thus building up industry agglomerations. This suggests that the semiconductor and FPD industries, for which proximity to manufacturers of equipment and materials and integration of the production with R & D are important, have profited from agglomeration economies.
