UNU/INTECH Studies in New Technology and Development – serie

This collection explores the effects of new technologies on women's employment and on the nature of women's work. The volume is edited by two pre-eminent scholars in the field and contains thirteen articles from leading academics worldwide.The book provides a critique of postmodernism and ecofeminism and demands that new technology is used as a vehicle for gender equality in the developing world.

This is a study of the impact of the economic crisis and subsequent adjustment policies in the African economies on the scientific and technological capabilities in those countries. It includes studies of Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

This collection sets out to explore technology policy in Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s. It is based on country studies and industry studies in the main Latin American economies and examines the political turmoil surrounding protected industrialisation in these countries.

Exporting Africa explains how firms, which have developed export trade in Sub-Saharan economies, have been able to sustain their competitiveness in the face of rapid technological change in the international economy: in short, how they deal with the threats and the promises which rapid technological changes present to Africa. The papers present new empirical research and an innovative conceptual framework.

This collection explores the effects of new technologies on women's employment and on the nature of women's work. The volume is edited by two pre-eminent scholars in the field and contains thirteen articles from leading academics worldwide.The book provides a critique of postmodernism and ecofeminism and demands that new technology is used as a vehicle for gender equality in the developing world.

Technology, Market Structure and Internationalization discusses the domestic and external factors that impinge upon the process of technological capability building in developing countries and draws policy implications. Specifically, it examines the interaction between technological effort in developing countries. Providing fresh insights, this volume will be of interest to researchers in development economics as well as to those involved with the creation of policy in developing countries.

In this book, Nagesh Kumar and expert contributors examine and explain the emerging patterns in international technology transfers and foreign direct investment flows (FDIs) over the past two decades. They analyse the trends in internationalization of corporate activity in individual source countries, discussing outflows from both major and emerging source countries. This departs from the existing treatments of FDI as homogenous resource and allows for a more detailed prediction of future outflow patterns. Throughout, the research focuses upon the implications of new trends for developing countries. Kumar concludes by outlining the policy implications for the governments of such countries seeking to mobilize technology and FDI for their industrialization and further integration into the international community. Controversially, he cautions against excessive optimism about the potential of FDI inflows as an agent of development.This book draws together much data and information which is not readily available and provides reflections upon international business negotiations from a developing country's perspective.

This book examines the extent of, and motives for, the diffusion of flexible automation (FA) at global level and then turns to the local and firm level, bringing together in-depth studies of sixty-two firms in Brazil, India, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela. Research focuses on the impact of computer-numerically-controlled machine tools on scale and scope by exploring changes in lot sizes and product variety (product scale and scope), total plant output (plant scale) and total firm output (firm scale). Barriers to setting up FA-based operations are discussed, as are factors which may affect a decision to locate in a developing country. The contributed studies reveal a relatively slow diffusion of FA in developing countries and it is demonstrated that while FA possibly increases scope, it also requires that plant output be increased in order to maintain efficiency. Alcorta concludes that the location in developing countries will probably only be viable for large domestic firms, multinationals seeking to relocate simple but labour intensive assembly processes and firms in countries with significant domestic markets.This work is unique in addressing the scale and scope issues in developing countries and in the wealth of information regarding machine tools which it provides. The data provided in the appendix includes official United Nations data, previously unpublished. This will be of use for all research into trends in the use of machine tools.