Technology and economic development - Edward J Malecki

This book is primarily a synthesis of the large literature which has grown around the topics of economic development and technology. It is intended to be a resource for further inquiry into the topics covered in its pages. Consequently, there are many references to the large and diverse literature which has contributed to development studies.;The expansive sweep of research which informs investigations of economic development adds to the growing realization, that technology and the management decisions of global business enterprises affect localities as well as national economies. This book brings together existing knowledge about economic development, especially at the scale of regions within nations. It is research at the regional scale which is most useful for addressing the realities of economic development in the 1990s, for the openess and vulnerability of regions and nations to outside influences, so evident from the early research into regional development, are now evident as well at national scales.;Technology is a central ingredient in economic development. It is behind the proliferation of products and of weapons. It permits entrepreneurs to get an edge on competitors, and it allows one region to be more prosperous than another.;This book treats the process of technological change as a central part of economic development. Its relevance to the national scale, recognized since the postwar era began, has spread to the regional and local levels. There, and at the national level as well, local or indigenous entrepreneurship, networks, and policies affect the level of economic well-being. The behaviour of large corporations and of new, small firms contribute to what we see as development. Organizational and locational changes accompany corporate responses to technological change. As firms have had to deal with global competition, so communities, regions, and nations must confront rivals for development in distant locations.