Jeffrey James – författare

This book is the outcome of a Development Studies Association Workshop on Technology that we convened in Queen Elizabeth House in March 1980. In the 1960s and 1970s most research on technology in poor countries was directed at the question of the labour or capital intensity of production technique (sometimes described as the ''neo-classical'' question). But recently, largely as a result of the findings of such research, the focus has changed quite radically. The collection of essays raises questions as much as it provides answers: but in so doing it provides a comprehensive introduction to the major new topics which are of substantial concern to those working on issues of technology and development.

This book is the outcome of a Development Studies Association Workshop on Technology that we convened in Queen Elizabeth House in March 1980. In the 1960s and 1970s most research on technology in poor countries was directed at the question of the labour or capital intensity of production technique (sometimes described as the ''neo-classical'' question). But recently, largely as a result of the findings of such research, the focus has changed quite radically. The collection of essays raises questions as much as it provides answers: but in so doing it provides a comprehensive introduction to the major new topics which are of substantial concern to those working on issues of technology and development.

First published in 1989, The Technological Behaviour of Public Enterprises in Developing Countries presents essays based on original research work conducted for the International Labour Office, to employ a wide variety of approaches and methodologies to analyse the technological choices made by public enterprises in Tanzania, India, Argentina, and Brazil. These empirical studies provide rich and detailed case-study material on key issues such as the choice of technology and the acquisition of advanced technological capabilities. The significance of the research findings in these areas and their policy implications are described in an introductory chapter, and the volume as a whole is accessible and relevant to policy makers and academics who are concerned with industrial development in the developing world.

First published in 1989, The Technological Behaviour of Public Enterprises in Developing Countries presents essays based on original research work conducted for the International Labour Office, to employ a wide variety of approaches and methodologies to analyse the technological choices made by public enterprises in Tanzania, India, Argentina, and Brazil. These empirical studies provide rich and detailed case-study material on key issues such as the choice of technology and the acquisition of advanced technological capabilities. The significance of the research findings in these areas and their policy implications are described in an introductory chapter, and the volume as a whole is accessible and relevant to policy makers and academics who are concerned with industrial development in the developing world.

Jeffrey James conducts a methodological and conceptual review of the patterns and shortfalls arising from the technological divide between countries, recommending a more proactive response for countries that are struggling to minimise the gap. He juxtaposes the current usage of technology coupled with the prohibitive cost of accessing the internet in the Global South against the cost of living in poverty, the lack of literacy, and learned digital skills. The book addresses these key issues and investigates the current gender disparity, offering solutions for implementing low-cost policies such as the recent successful launch of the inexpensive JioPhone handset.

Learning, Digital Skills, and the Global South is an excellent resource for scholars of development economics, innovation economics and information technology. It is also an invigorating read for policy makers in developing countries to make future decisions drawing on a wider variety of analytical frameworks and methods than is usually the case.

Jeffrey James is one of the relatively few academics to have systematically taken on the topic of IT and development. In this timely book he undertakes a methodological critique of prominent topics in the debate.

Challenging the existing literature by international and governmental institutions, the book looks not only at the digital divide but also at issues such as digital preparedness, leapfrogging and low-cost computers. James also raises important issues which have been largely neglected in the literature, such as the implications for poverty in developing countries and the macroeconomics of mobile phones.

The book argues that benefits from IT are captured in a different form in developing as opposed to developed countries. In the latter, gains come from technology ownership and use, whereas in the former, benefits cannot be captured as much in this way because ownership is more limited. Interestingly, the author shows that developing countries have responded to this distinction with a series of local innovations which are often low-cost and pro-poor. This finding contradicts the widely held view that poor countries are unable to generate major innovations within their own borders.

Accessible and clearly written, this book will be of great interest to scholars of development economics and development studies, and is relevant to both policy-makers and academics.

Jeffrey James is one of the relatively few academics to have systematically taken on the topic of IT and development. In this timely book he undertakes a methodological critique of prominent topics in the debate.

Challenging the existing literature by international and governmental institutions, the book looks not only at the digital divide but also at issues such as digital preparedness, leapfrogging and low-cost computers. James also raises important issues which have been largely neglected in the literature, such as the implications for poverty in developing countries and the macroeconomics of mobile phones.

The book argues that benefits from IT are captured in a different form in developing as opposed to developed countries. In the latter, gains come from technology ownership and use, whereas in the former, benefits cannot be captured as much in this way because ownership is more limited. Interestingly, the author shows that developing countries have responded to this distinction with a series of local innovations which are often low-cost and pro-poor. This finding contradicts the widely held view that poor countries are unable to generate major innovations within their own borders.

Accessible and clearly written, this book will be of great interest to scholars of development economics and development studies, and is relevant to both policy-makers and academics.

The current growth path in sub-Saharan Africa is not following the Lewis model where labour moves from low-productivity agriculture to higher productivity manufacturing. Instead, it is moving directly to inappropriate (import and labour-saving) methods. This book seeks to show how this distorted growth process leaves out the major resource of these countries – labour – and ends up creating unstable employment and underemployment, leading to inequality and poverty. In this way it demonstrates how the entire growth process may be rendered unstable and unsustainable.

Sustainable Growth in the African Economy considers whether the relatively rapid growth of recent years can be maintained or improved upon, with a focus on the process of industrialisation. Basing itself on a well-known dual-economy model, the proposed book focuses on several major problems of industrialisation, which has long been seen as the means of structural change in an economy which begins from a low income level. The book considers how the future trajectory of sub-Saharan Africa compares to recent success stories on other continents, and explains how factors such as rapid population growth and capital and import-intensive technology in manufacturing could foreshadow future social and political problems.

This book will be essential reading to students and policymakers who are concerned with the existing pattern of African growth.

The current growth path in sub-Saharan Africa is not following the Lewis model where labour moves from low-productivity agriculture to higher productivity manufacturing. Instead, it is moving directly to inappropriate (import and labour-saving) methods. This book seeks to show how this distorted growth process leaves out the major resource of these countries – labour – and ends up creating unstable employment and underemployment, leading to inequality and poverty. In this way it demonstrates how the entire growth process may be rendered unstable and unsustainable.

Sustainable Growth in the African Economy considers whether the relatively rapid growth of recent years can be maintained or improved upon, with a focus on the process of industrialisation. Basing itself on a well-known dual-economy model, the proposed book focuses on several major problems of industrialisation, which has long been seen as the means of structural change in an economy which begins from a low income level. The book considers how the future trajectory of sub-Saharan Africa compares to recent success stories on other continents, and explains how factors such as rapid population growth and capital and import-intensive technology in manufacturing could foreshadow future social and political problems.

This book will be essential reading to students and policymakers who are concerned with the existing pattern of African growth.