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Environmental leapfrogging in developing countries: A critical assessment and reconstruction

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  • Richard Perkins

Abstract

It has been suggested in recent years that developing countries need not pass through the dirty stages of industrial growth that marred the past of today's developed countries. Instead, they may be able to bypass these by leapfrogging straight to modern, clean technologies as an integral part of capacity addition. This article critically reviews existing approaches to leapfrogging. It argues that they are not only characterized by considerable ambiguity, but also based on an incomplete understanding of the technological and policy requirements of cleaner industrialization. Consequently, the article goes on to offer a number of suggestions as to how current approaches might be advanced so as to better meet the challenge of leapfrogging. Amongst these suggestions is greater clarification of the specific targets for leapfrogging and policy intervention to accelerate the development of technological capabilities needed to select, absorb and innovate leapfrog technologies.

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  • Richard Perkins, 2003. "Environmental leapfrogging in developing countries: A critical assessment and reconstruction," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 27(3), pages 177-188, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:natres:v:27:y:2003:i:3:p:177-188
    DOI: 10.1111/1477-8947.00053
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    2. Jan F. Killmer, 2023. "Who leaps first: Status quo of the leapfrogging phenomenon," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(7), pages 4027-4040, October.
    3. Wojciech Ewider, 2021. "Development of modern payment methods in Poland as an example of technological leapfrogging," Zeszyty Naukowe Małopolskiej Wyższej Szkoły Ekonomicznej w Tarnowie / The Malopolska School of Economics in Tarnow Research Papers Collection, Malopolska School of Economics in Tarnow, vol. 50(2), pages 79-91, June.
    4. Binz, Christian & Truffer, Bernhard & Li, Li & Shi, Yajuan & Lu, Yonglong, 2012. "Conceptualizing leapfrogging with spatially coupled innovation systems: The case of onsite wastewater treatment in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 155-171.
    5. David M. Evans & Alison L. Browne & Ilse A. Gortemaker, 2020. "Environmental leapfrogging and everyday climate cultures: sustainable water consumption in the Global South," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 83-97, November.
    6. Wijers, G.D.M., 2010. "Determinants of the digital divide: A study on IT development in Cambodia," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 336-341.
    7. Quang-Huy Ngo & Thanh-Dung Nguyen & Nhu-Binh Phan, 2025. "Exploring green purchasing intentions and behaviours among Vietnamese Generation Z: A perspective from the theory of planned behaviour," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(5), pages 1-25, May.
    8. Edsand, Hans-Erik, 2019. "Technological innovation system and the wider context: A framework for developing countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).

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