Topic
Appropriate technology
About: Appropriate technology is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1545 publications have been published within this topic receiving 18840 citations. The topic is also known as: intermediate technology.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define a country's technology as a triple of efficiencies: one for unskilled labor, one for skilled labor, and one for capital, and find a negative cross-country correlation between the efficiency of unskilled labour and the efficiencies of skilled labor and capital.
Abstract: We define a country's technology as a triple of efficiencies: one for unskilled labor, one for skilled labor, and one for capital. We find a negative cross-country correlation between the efficiency of unskilled labor and the efficiencies of skilled labor and capital. We interpret this finding as evidence of the existence of a World Technology Frontier. On this frontier, increases in the efficiency of unskilled labor are obtained at the cost of declines in the efficiency of skilled labor and capital. We estimate a model in which firms in each country optimally choose from a menu of technologies, i.e. they choose their technology subject to a Technology Frontier. The optimal choice of technology depends on the country's endowment of skilled and unskilled labor, so that the model is one of appropriate technology. The estimation allows for country-specific technology frontiers, due to barriers to technology adoption. We find that poor countries tend disproportionately to be inside the World Technology Frontier.
601 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a model of growth and technology transfer based on the idea that technologies are specific to particular combinations of inputs, and argue that a model with appropriate technology and technology diffusion is more appealing, and has more realistic predictions for long-run convergence and growth, than either the standard neoclassical model or simple endogenous-growth models.
Abstract: We present a model of growth and technology transfer based on the idea that technologies are specific to particular combinations of inputs. We argue that this model is more realistic than the usual specification, in which an improvement in any technique for producing a given good improves all other techniques for producing that good. Our model implies that technology improvements will diffuse only slowly, even if there are no barriers to the flow of knowledge and no adoption costs. On the other hand, although our basic production technology is of the `Ak' variety, technology diffusion implies that countries with identical policies and different initial incomes do eventually converge to the same level of per-capita income. We argue that a model with appropriate technology and technology diffusion is more appealing, and has more realistic predictions for long-run convergence and growth, than either the standard neoclassical model or simple endogenous-growth models.
570 citations
TL;DR: This paper conceptually evaluate issues surrounding the sustainability of SWM and proposes a multi-pronged integrated approach for improvement that achieves sustainable SWM in the context of national policy and legal frameworks, institutional arrangement, appropriate technology, operational and financial management, and public awareness and participation.
544 citations
Abstract: We define a country’s technology as a triple of efficiencies: one for unskilled labour, one for skilled labour and one for capital. We find a negative crosscountry correlation between the efficiency of unskilled labour, and the efficiencies of skilled labour and capital. We interpret this finding as evidence of the existence of a World Technology Frontier. On this frontier, increases in the efficiency of unskilled labour are obtained at the cost of declines in the efficiency of skilled labour and capital. We estimate a model in which firms in each country optimally choose from a menu of technologies, i.e. they choose their technology subject to a Technology Frontier. The optimal choice of technology depends on the country’s endowment of skilled and unskilled labour, so that the model is one of appropriate technology. The estimation allows for country-specific technology frontiers, due to barriers to technology adoption. We find that poor countries tend disproportionately to be inside the World Technology Frontier.
482 citations