Scientific catch-up process in Asian countries: A case study of solar cell

A significant structural change in the pattern of economic development in Asian countries has been observed in recent years. In this paper we analyzed their scientific catch-up status using scientific papers on solar cells to clarify the structural change. We found as a result that the catch-up process in Asian countries had progressed rapidly, that some countries had a larger share of scientific papers in the frontier field of advanced science than in the matured fields, and that the strategy largely changed from country to country. A "parallel-running-type growth model" has thus been emerging in Asia. We also showed that bibliometrics is an effective method for presuming a detailed strategy that is not opened as policy.