Book Description

Technology for Underdeveloped Areas: An Annotated Bibliography focuses on the functional aspects of technology, including the economic criteria of choice, the institutional requisite for transmittal, and the cultural constraints upon proficiency. This book discusses the relevant concepts, provides specific examples of products and systems required by developing economies, and indicates organizational approaches to adapting advantageous technology. Organized into five parts, this book starts with an overview of the most comprehensive statements on the criteria of choice for developing economies. This text then examines the concept of scarcity, which is essential to questions of technological optima in the areas of investment returns, trade specializations, and growth rates. Other chapters consider the general problems encountered by developing economies in the world. This book discusses as well the changes in corporate and economic policies to enhance technological efficiency. The final chapter analyzes the difficulties encountered by international corporations trying to transplant industrial techniques. Social scientists, economists, and engineers will find this book useful.