Sound Tips For Policymakers
Finance capital combined with international competitiveness has led to restructuring of economies of various nations in the past. In this process, technology was a catalyst and was regarded as the engine of growth. This rise of capital-intensive technology led to doubts in the minds of planners in the third world, who felt that technological import and capital-intensive mode of production would lead to large-scale unemployment. This, alongwith the fear of the growing economic strength of MNCs and a possible threat to political freedom in colonial countries, led to a protectionist approach. In India, globalisation and regionalisation led to various structural and fiscal adjustment policies in the late 80s and early 90s.
This book is yet another attempt to decipher the socio-economic growth and development of the Asian Tigers. And as usual an attempt has been made to draw lessons from the development experience of these countries which are followed by corrective measures that can be undertaken by a late starter like India.
The book has four major sections: the first three are integrated to procreate the last chapter, which mainly concentrates on the lesson from the experience of the three Asian Tigers. The first chapter discusses the conceptual framework and provides a sketchy description of various policies related to technology transfer and human resource development. The second section does a detailed countrywise case study of selected issues. The presentation of this section is interesting and throws light on the assimilation of technology, human resource development, labour laws, and R&D.
The book is a collection of information from various sources, interpreted with a common point what needs to be done with the surge of finance capital and the means to attract more of it. By combining finance capital and technology, the authors have tried to remove the apprehensions over the center and periphery argument given by neo-Marxian economists. Citing the example of Singapore and Malaysia, a case for growth of large multinational firms is made. Thus they have pointed out the fact that MNCs have not restricted the growth of indigenous firms. Instead, they have facilitated the growth of small firms, which has led to growth of employment, and enhancement of the living standards and skills of workers. MNCs in these countries have helped upgrade labour standards which has benefited local entrepreneurs,
Some macro and micro policy issues have also been dealt with in detail: to start with the philosophy of development in these countries. They adopted the social change through economic development approach to growth, whereas the Indian approach was simultaneous social and economic growth. These countries had a clear vision regarding future goals, which is absent in India. An important policy, common to all South-East Asian countries taken for comparison, is their export-oriented approach and encouragement to foreign investment, rather than an import substitution and self-reliant approach taken by Indian policymakers. Another area of critical policy evaluation is the delays in clearances and direct negotiations on technology and investment. According to a survey, it takes months to get project clearances in Thailand and Singapore, weeks in Malaysia, and one to two years in India. The book points at the inefficiency of the Indian bureaucratic
system to adjust to the competitive world order.
The private sector in the surveyed countries was a better medium of technology transfer because of an efficient decision-making system. The examples of Indian firms quoted in the book clearly reveal that the public sector faces a lot of problems due to delay in approvals for collaborated projects, technology development and commercialisation of indigenous technologies, as they operate with poor economic sense, lack of marketing strategies and poor interaction between various divisions. On the other hand, the South-East Asian countries had minimal negotiation, and the respective governments encouraged sophisticated technological import through incentives. Political stability with respect to consistency in policies was an additional quality they had, whereas in India policies change with the change in government.
Human resource development is an ongoing process in these countries. Workers are constantly trained and prepared for higher technologies. Multinational firms were found contributing to these efforts, directly and indirectly.
Virmani and Rao have put certain crucial aspects of technology transfer and HRD in perspective, and these can be useful for both industrialists and planners. The book may also be of help to some academics as it deals with the problems in a empirical fashion.