author : Dongsoon Lim (Industrial Competitiveness Division), Yoon-Hee Choi (New Growth Industries Division)


Scientific discoveries in biotechnology hold the promise of new products and medical treatments, better ways to make existing goods and services, and the birth of entirely new industries. Accordingly, there have been great expectations concerning the economic potential of biotechnology in the last decade. New biotechnology is expected to become an important driving force in the economy after the era of information and communications technologies.
To some observers, the potential economic and other impacts from commercialization of biotechnologies are only now beginning to emerge in a wide range of areas. While the actual direction and ultimate magnitude of biotechnology-related growth is still unclear, many countries have implemented economic development strategies intended to support the evolution of this industry as a source of employment and income growth.
There are some fundamental and applied research works in estimating the size of biotechnology and bio-industry and its economic impacts. Most researches are dominantly based on industry survey with R&D surveys of the public and private sector. Some works has utilized data set for the companies listed on the stock exchange....