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Understanding Technology Development

In: Learning from the Asian Tigers

Author

Listed:
  • Sanjaya Lall

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

In a general sense, most developing countries are inept at using industrial technologies.1 This ineptness may take one or more of several forms. Their enterprises may import and deploy technologies that are not appropriate to their countries’ endowments of labour or skills, or to their scales of production. They may not fully assimilate the technologies they have imported, so may not use them at ‘best-practice’ levels of technical efficiency. Individual enterprises may, moreover, differ widely in their relative efficiencies. This variation is also found in developed economies, but tends to be far more marked in developing ones, indicating that diffusion of knowledge is more limited and market competition more imperfect. Finally, they may not be able to upgrade the technologies they have mastered, or diversify into new technologies as conditions change. Thus, they may stay at the low value-added end of the industrial spectrum, falling behind world technological frontiers as others forge ahead.

Suggested Citation

  • Sanjaya Lall, 1996. "Understanding Technology Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Learning from the Asian Tigers, chapter 2, pages 27-58, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-38989-2_2
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230389892_2
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    Cited by:

    1. Dowling, Malcolm & Ray, David, 2000. "The structure and composition of international trade in Asia:: historical trends and future prospects," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 301-318, December.
    2. Andrea Morrison & Carlo Pietrobelli & Roberta Rabellotti, 2008. "Global Value Chains and Technological Capabilities: A Framework to Study Learning and Innovation in Developing Countries," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 39-58.
    3. Bodas Freitas, Isabel Maria & Marques, Rosane Argou & Silva, Evando Mirra de Paula e, 2013. "University–industry collaboration and innovation in emergent and mature industries in new industrialized countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 443-453.
    4. C. Pietrobelli, 1994. "Trade liberalisation and industrial response: the case of Chile (1974-1987)," Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 47(191), pages 431-468.
    5. Simon Pek & Chang Hoon Oh & Jorge Rivera, 2018. "MNC foreign investment and industrial disasters: The moderating role of technological, safety management, and philanthropic capabilities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(2), pages 502-526, February.
    6. Munir Ahmad & Azkar Ahmad, 1998. "An Analysis of the Sources of Wheat Output Growth in the Barani Area of the Punjab," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 231-249.
    7. Peter J. Buckley & Roger Strange & Marcel P. Timmer & Gaaitzen J. de Vries, 2020. "Catching-up in the global factory: Analysis and policy implications," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(2), pages 79-106, June.
    8. Mohan Babu, G.N., 1999. "The Determinants of Firm-level Technological Performances - A Study on the Indian Capital Goods Sector," UNU-INTECH Discussion Paper Series 1999-01, United Nations University - INTECH.
    9. Thee Kian Wie, 2010. "Technology and Indonesia’s Industrial Competitiveness," Working Papers id:3295, eSocialSciences.
    10. Chen, Victor Zitian & Li, Jing & Shapiro, Daniel M., 2012. "International reverse spillover effects on parent firms: Evidences from emerging-market MNEs in developed markets," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 204-218.
    11. Sanjaya Lall, 2001. "National strategies for technology adoption in the industrial sector: Lessons of recent experience in the developing regions," Human Development Occasional Papers (1992-2007) HDOCPA-2001-08, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    12. Sonali Deraniyagala, 2001. "Adaptive technology strategies and technical efficiency: Evidence from the Sri Lankan agricultural machinery industry," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(1), pages 59-71.
    13. Tiwari, Siddhartha Paul & Kostenko, Oleksii & Yekhanurov, Yuriy, 2025. "Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections," MPRA Paper 125131, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Andrea Morrison & Carlo Pietrobelli & Roberta Rabellotti, 2006. "Global Value Chains and Technological Capabilities: A Framework to Study Industrial Innovation in Developing Countries," KITeS Working Papers 192, KITeS, Centre for Knowledge, Internationalization and Technology Studies, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy, revised Dec 2006.
    15. Munir Ahmad, 2001. "Agricultural Productivity Growth Differential in Punjab, Pakistan: A District-level Analysis," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 40(1), pages 1-25.
    16. Malek, Mohd Dahlan Abdul, 2025. "Review of Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections (2025)," MPRA Paper 127189, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Usman Qadir (ed.), 2024. "Wheels Of Change: Tracing Pakistans Automotive Evolution Through Political Economy And Technology Acquisition," PIDE Books, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, number 2024:08.
    18. Mustafa ZUHAL, 2020. "Determinants of national innovation capacity in developing countries: An empirical survey," Turkish Economic Review, EconSciences Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 184-192, October.
    19. Munir Ahmad & Boris E. Bravo-Ureta, 1995. "An Econometric Decomposition of Dairy Output Growth," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 77(4), pages 914-921.
    20. Carla Berke & Harald Trabold, 1995. ""Low-cost" oder "High-tech"?: Strategische Außenwirtschaftsoptionen für die mittel- und osteuropäischen Länder," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 124, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    21. Amin U. Sarkar, 1997. "Sustainable development and technology," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 97-102, June.
    22. Bangens, Lennart & Araujo, Luis, 2002. "The structures and processes of learning. A case study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 571-581, July.
    23. Pervez N. Ghauri & Shufeng Simon Xiao & Byung Il Park & Seong-Jin Choi, 2023. "Protectionism and its Impact on MNC Subsidiaries’ Performance," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(5), pages 731-757, October.
    24. Sonali Deraniyagala, 2000. "The Impact of Technology Accumulation on Technical Efficiency: an Analysis of the Sri Lankan Clothing and Agricultural Machinery Industries," Working Papers 103, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, UK.

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