The Hsinchu Science-based Industry Park in Taiwan is now 30 years old. It has provided the economic geographic home to Taiwan's leading high-tech clusters in such fïelds as integrated circuits, flat panel displays, IC design and now in optoelectronics. Hsinchu-based firms generate value-added (revenues less costs as a proportion of total revenues) of 50 percent compared with a figure of 30 percent for manufacturing firms outside the park-evidence of increasing returns and higher-order capabilities generated by the clustering of firms in the Hsinchu park and the R&D alliances they have formed. The paper concludes by framing the ”Hsinchu model” as more relevant and accessible for most countries than the Silicon Valley model.