Economic development in South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Ireland has accelerated dramatically since the 1960s, as it has in China more recently. These areas share a common element in their development strategies--the aggressive pursuit, acquisition, and incorporation of knowledge from industrialized nations. In this article, the author argues that, when situated in a less developed country (LDC), the higher-tech transnational corporations (TNCs) knowingly and unknowingly function like educational institutions by transferring knowledge and technical expertise to national institutions, including domestic industries, universities, and public schools. The research presented in this article will be relevant to many developing countries, particularly those in Central America and Eastern Europe that are beginning to receive substantial amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI) and outsourced jobs from industrialized nations. Two research questions drive this article. First, regarding LDCs, to what extent and by what means is knowledge (e.g., technical expertise, job skills, management techniques, and production methods) transferred from TNCs to national institutions (e.g., domestic industries, universities, public schools, and government agencies)? Second, how do recipient countries use the acquired knowledge to move up national learning and development curves toward national development goals? These two questions are addressed by comparing the cases of South Korea and Mexico. (Contains 4 figures, 3 tables and 67 footnotes.)