African Science
The following is a letter I wrote to The Economist.
Dear Sir,
You argue in a recent article (Amaizing Grace Feb. 1) that African nations must develop their own science and technology in addition to establishing a free-market economy and a strong government if they wish to become successful states. However, with the rise of globalization and an increase in technological and scientific exchange, this condition of independent national research now seems obsolete if it even existed in the first place. Rather than investing heavily in labs, equipment, and human capital, the last of which requires solid institutions to begin with, African nations can instead focus on more pressing issues—like free markets and good governments—while benefiting from the technological advances of other countries through aid and trade. Independent national science and technology are products of, not preconditions to, strong nations.
Kyle Chan
3 comments:
Kyle,
Jeff here. I must strongly disgree with you in your view on the causes and effects of economic growth. Pretty much ever since the work of Solow and Swan (1956) was recognized as a fundamental improvement on the Domar model of long-term economic growth, economists have recognized the fundamental importance of technological growth to overall macroeconomic growth. To suggest otherwise is to overlook the 60 or more years of essentially ineffective capital based foreign development assistance. For a good overview of the topic, see Easterly (2002) "The Elusive Quest for Growth".
Hey Jeff,
Thanks for the post. Nice citations. I've considered doing more of that myself, but you know...
Anyways, the neoclassical economic growth model doesn't specify exactly where increases in productivity stem from. I'm arguing that it's easier to take on technological improvements that have already been made by other nations rather than having to devote capital to indigenous technological development. The "Asian tigers" are prime examples of this. Many of them used and benefited from the technological improvements made by other nations to their own country's advantage, which may be a reason why they were able to "catch up" so fast to developed countries (the very ones they were taking technology from).
Sorry if this isn't as technical as it should be: I'm trying to make this accessible to other readers as well.
This YouTube clip brings an interesting perspective to the whole premise of economy; commerce; and progression of development in all lands. Worth the watch in my view.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q
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