Technology and Developing Economies: The Impact of Eastern European Versus Western Technology Transfer

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This is the first empirical study to compare and contrast the effects of technology transfer to developing countries from the West and from Eastern European countries. The author's primary purpose is to compare the effects of the different technologies offered by the two groups--the capital-intensive technologies of the West and the labor-intensive technologies of the Eastern bloc--on the economic growth of developing countries, as measured by growth in output. Using an analytical method based on the production-input structure, the author is able to quantify the impact on economic growth of technology transfer from different sources and with different characteristics. Karake also evaluates the experience of developing countries in importing technologies and identifies the direction, pattern, and content of those technologies. Scholars in international and economic development will find Karake's work an important contribution to the documented information concerning the trade in technology and its relation to economic growth and technological interdependence. Following an introductory chapter, Karake offers a general discussion of the relationships among development, growth, and technology. She then introduces the econometric time-series models and describes the basic study structure. The next section examines policies, mechanisms, and trends in technology transfer in both the West and the East, focusing on such issues as the factors and policies which affect technology transfer to the Middle East and patterns of technological exports. A chapter devoted to model formulation, empirical analysis, estimation, and results specifies the empirical models used in the study and presents statistical analysis of the appropriate data. Finally, Karake summarizes the major research findings, suggests avenues for further research, and assesses the future of technology transfer activity. Four appendices containing important supplemental information and a bibliography complete the study.

Author Bio

ZEINAB A. KARAKE is Associate Professor of Management at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.