The nature, timing and mix of interventionist policies are more important than the argument between having an industrial policy or letting the market rule. Several Asian countries have adopted an economic development policy of 'competitive protectionism', targeting nascent industries and assisting their technological advance so that they can export their products. Despite efforts to develop advanced technologies locally, some Latin American countries embraced 'autarchic protectionism', organizing production based upon older imported technologies behind national tariff walls primarily for domestic use. In this paper we compare Brazilian and Korean experience to analyze why interventionist technology policies failed in the former country even as they succeeded in the latter. A case study of a Brazilian university and its incubator facility mirrors developments in national technology policies. Latin American innovation policy is moving toward a 'triple helix' of cooperative relations among university, industry and government. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.284337350