Technological Change And Economic Performance

This useful new book reviews the literature on technology and economic growth covering historical and theoretical developments such as: *new models for measuring productivity*sources of technical knowledge and technological spillovers*stock market reactions to investment in technologySuch a comprehensive survey is likely to be welcomed by students

Commissioned and brought tohgether for the research project by the world-renowned Council on Foreign Relations, the authors have produced an important compendia in applied economics.

In this wide ranging exposition of the various economic theories of technological change, Stanislaw Gomulka relates them to rates of growth experienced by different economies in both the short and the long term. Analysis of countries as diverse as Japan, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom demonstrates that there is an interdependence between technological change and the institutional and cultural characteristics of different countries, which can have a profound effect on their rates of growth. All of the major, relevant models are discussed, including those of Kuznets and Phelps, but throughout the emphasis is on the creation of a unified theoretical framework to help explain the impact of technological progress on both a micro and a macro scale.

An analytical framework for explaining the ways in which institutions and institutional change affect the performance of economies is developed in this analysis of economic structures.

Technology's contribution to economic growth and competitiveness has been the subject of vigorous debate in recent years. This book demonstrates the importance of a historical perspective in understanding the role of technological innovation in the economy. The authors examine key episodes and institutions in the development of the U.S. research system and in the development of the research systems of other industrial economies. They argue that the large potential contributions of economics to the understanding of technology and economic growth have been constrained by the narrow theoretical framework employed within neoclassical economies. A richer framework, they believe, will support a more fruitful dialogue among economists, policymakers, and managers on the organization of public and private institutions for innovation. David Mowery is Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy at the School of Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley. Nathan S. Rosenberg is Fairleigh Dickinson Professor of Economics at Stanford University. He is the author of Inside the Black Box: Technology and Economics (CUP, 1983).

In this wide ranging exposition of the various economic theories of technological change, Stanislaw Gomulka relates them to rates of growth experienced by different economies in both the short and the long term. Analysis of countries as diverse as Japan, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom demonstrates that there is an interdependence between technological change and the institutional and cultural characteristics of different countries, which can have a profound effect on their rates of growth. All of the major, relevant models are discussed, including those of Kuznets and Phelps, but throughout the emphasis is on the creation of a unified theoretical framework to help explain the impact of technological progress on both a micro and a macro scale.

Traditionally, economists have considered the accumulation of conventional inputs such as labour and capital to be the primary force behind economic growth. In the late-1990s however, many economists place technological progress at the centre of the growth process. This shift is due to theoretical developments that allow researchers to link microeconomic outcomes.

Growth in a Time of Change: Global and Country Perspectives on a New Agenda is the first of a two-book research project that addresses new issues and challenges for economic growth arising from ongoing significant change in the world economy, focusing especially on technological transformation. The project is a collaboration between the Brookings Institution and the Korea Development Institute. Part I of the book looks at key elements of change from a global perspective. It analyzes how technological change, shifts in investment, and demographic transition are affecting potential economic growth globally and across major groups of economies. The contributors explore possible scenarios for the global economy as the digital revolution drives rapid technological change, including impacts on growth, jobs, income distribution, trade balances, and capital flows. Technology is changing the global configuration of comparative advantage and globalization increasingly has a digital dimension. The implications of these developments for the future of sectors such as manufacturing and for international trade are assessed. Part II of the book addresses new issues in the growth agenda from the perspective of an individual major economy: South Korea. The chapters in this section analyze how macroeconomic developments and technological change are influencing the behavior of households and firms in terms of their decisions to consume, save, and invest. Rising income and wealth inequalities are a major concern globally. Against this backdrop, trends in the labor income share and wage inequalities in South Korea are analyzed in terms of the role played by technology, industrial concentration, shifts in labor demand and supply, and other factors. Throughout the book, the contributors, in their analysis of both global and Korea-specific trends and prospects, place emphasis on drawing implications for policy.

Information technology accounts for over one-third of recent U.S. GDP growth and nearly two-thirds of corporate capital investment. ''The New Economy'' appears omnipresent, but little is actually known about its workings. This seminal volume brings together the research and critical thinking of many of the world's top macro and micro economists to provide a unique, multifaceted perspective. Through the use of detailed, up-to-date country and industry studies, this book provides the most authoritative and detailed analysis ever assembled into the causes of technological innovation and its relationship to economic performance. The country studies cover the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Nordic states. Nine industry studies examine the Internet, computers and semiconductors, banking, securities trading, venture capital, energy, agricultural biotechnology, pharmaceutical biotechnology, and automobiles. Commissioned and brought together for the research project by the world-renowned Council on Foreign Relations, the authors have produced one of the most important compendia in applied economics to be published in recent times. The contributors are Charles Calomiris, Ian Domowitz, Robert Evenson, Charles Fine, Robert Gordon, Richard Langlois, Josh Lerner, Markku Malkamäki, Patrick Messerlin, Joel Mokyr, David Mowery, Richard R. Nelson, Stephen Nickell, Gary Pisano, Adam Posen, Daniel Raff, Horst Siebert, Timothy Simcoe, Benn Steil, Michael Stolpe, John Van Reenen, David Victor, and Matti Virén.

"The book investigates the technological development and its impact on economic and environmental sustainability in the world from an interdisciplinary perspective"--