Geography and Development

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen J. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Regional Development ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Less Developed Countries ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Industrial Systems ◽  
Advanced Economies ◽  
The World

Theories of regional development and growth have hitherto focused for the most part on situations in the more developed countries of the world. There is no reason in principle, however, why these theories should not also apply—with suitable adjustments— to cases in less developed countries. Certainly, economic theorists of late have increasingly sought to deny that we need radically different approaches for dealing with less as opposed to more advanced economies (cf. Bloom and Sachs 1998; Sachs and Warner 1997). In recent years, indeed, a growing body of empirical work has demonstrated that very similar kinds of regional development and growth processes to those found in North America, Western Europe, and Japan are observable in much of the rest of the world. These processes are manifest in localized industrial systems that range from the purely incipient to largescale productive regions with global reach. In the present chapter, I attempt to systematize some of the main theoretical issues that are encountered in any attempt to understand the logic and dynamics of regional production complexes in less developed countries. In addition, I offer a brief review of some of the empirical work that has been undertaken on this question in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, together with some comments on the dilemmas that policy-makers in these areas must face up to in any attempt to promote development. I proceed at the outset by drawing both explicitly and implicitly on three major strands of thought. The first of these is what Krugman (1996) has called High Development Theory, with its central focus on virtuous circles of cumulative causation and balanced growth. The second is the so-called new growth theory, which emphasizes the pervasiveness of dynamic increasing returns effects in the modern economy (Lucas 1988; Romer 1986). The third is contemporary economic geography, where a long tradition of research has underscored the important role of regional clusters of production and work as motors of economic expansion and social progress (cf. Scott and Storper 2003).

Some Aspects of the “Value” of Less-developed Countries to the United States

1963 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Wolf
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Less Developed Countries ◽  
World Today ◽  
Precise Sense ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The World

If one thinks seriously about any of the major international trouble spots in the world today, one soon confronts the problem of what really is the “value” of, for example, Cuba, Berlin, or Laos to the United States. The view put forward in this article is that, while the question is unanswerable in a rigorous and precise sense, some useful things can be said in approaching it, and in trying to distinguish between more and less unsatisfactory answers to it. In principle, of course, the value of other countries to the United States includes that of the advanced countries, and, most significantly, of Western Europe. The present article, however, will be primarily concerned with the value of less-developed countries to the United States, and with their value in certain extreme contingencies over a time period that is relatively short from the standpoint of history, though somewhat longer from the standpoint of economics.

'Restrictive Business Practices', report by the UNCTAD Secretariat, April 1972.

1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-316
Author(s):  
G. M. Radhu
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Less Developed Countries ◽  
International Firms ◽  
The World ◽  
The Sixties ◽  
Financial Power ◽  
Administrative Structures

The report by the UNCTAD Secretariat, submitted to the third session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held in Santiago (Chile) in April 1972, deals with the restrictive business practices of the multinational corporations with special reference to the export interests of the developing countries. Since the world war, there has been a tremendous growth in the size and activities of many international firms. They have grown from the national corporation to the multidivisional corporation and now to the multinational corporation. With each step they acquired greater financial power, better technology and know-how and more complex administrative structures. They have subsidiaries and branches all over the world. In the course of the sixties they became one of the dominant factors in determining the pattern of world trade. At the same time, their increasingly restrictive business practices, which tended to adversely affect world trade and the export interest of less developed countries, attracted the attention of the governments both in developed and less developed countries and serious concern was shown at the international level. It is against this background that the UNCTAD undertook the study on the question of restrictive business practices.

scholarly journals Helping to promote psychiatry in less developed countries

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Broadhead ◽  
J. Piachaud ◽  
J. Birley
Keyword(s):  
Royal College ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Empirical Approach ◽  
Less Developed Countries ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
The World ◽  
Return Home

British psychiatry is appreciated all over the world for its empirical approach, its basis as a publicly funded service which is available to all citizens, and for its tradition (shared with the rest of British medicine) of educational connections with many other countries – members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists can be found in 70 countries worldwide. These connections are educational for all of those concerned. For visitors, the experience of seeing what can be done in a different context with different resources – both human and material – compels them, on their return home, to see their usual territory and practice in a new and revealing light.

ICT in Regional Development

2005 ◽  
pp. 387-392
Author(s):  
Saundarjya Borbora ◽  
Mrinal Kanti Dutta
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Internet Connections ◽  
The Developed Countries

Economic development and information and communication technology (ICT) are found to move together in the present day era of globalization. ICT can contribute significantly in economic development of a region by providing adequate information at the minimum of time and cost, thereby enhancing productivity in different sectors of an economy. This fact is substantiated by several studies (Kraemer & Dedrick, 2001; Pohjola, 2001). Some country specific studies like that of Singapore (Wong, 2001) also highlighted similar results. ICT diffusion in the world has been quite rapid since the mid 1990s. While the developed countries have benefited substantially from the ICT growth, the developing countries could not reap similar benefits out of it which has resulted in emergence of a digital divide across the countries (Economist, 2000; Nkrumah, 2000; Norris, 2001). This divide is noticed not only across countries but also within a country and this is more prominent in developing economies like India. ICT diffusion is another area which needs more attention in India as it will lead to ICT access and application of ICT in real sectors to increase productivity and output. During the past one decade India has made rapid advances in ICT growth as reflected in the increase in the number of Internet connections and users. The growth of Internet connections and users in the country is shown in Table 1.

Values as an Obstacle to Economic Growth in South Asia: An Historical Survey

1967 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morris David Morris
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Economic Organization ◽  
Historical Survey ◽  
Value System ◽  
The World ◽  
And Performance

There are two widely held explanations for South Asia's failure to attain the level of economic performance achieved by the now developed countries of the world: One is that British imperial policy frustrated economic growth after 1750; the other is that the Indian value system and die social structure that reflected that value system were obstacles to economic growth. It is worthy of note that both interpretations tend to visualize pre-1750 South Asia at a level of economic organization and performance at least equal to that of western Europe in 1750, with the economic gap appearing only subsequently.

Key Challenges of E-Government Adoption in Less Developed Countries

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raja Yahya Al Sharief
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Less Developed Countries ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Government Program ◽  
Government Project ◽  
The Government

The Government of Saudi Arabia has given a great attention to the e-Government program and the transformation process that leads to the successful implementation of such program in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, in recent years e-Government has been the favourable theme for numerous studies and reports. Yet, there is a lack of systematic empirical evidence regarding the key challenges for the e-Government implementation in less developed countries in general and in Saudi Arabia in particular. Consequently, this paper is an exploratory attempt that seeks to analyse the key challenges for implementing e-Government project in Saudi Arabia, as well as to establish the main obstacles to the deployment of such new technology and the associated causes and possible solutions to avoid potential drawbacks and overcome all problems. Using a sample of 50 experts, the author found that trust is the first factor inhibiting wider adoption of e-Government application in Saudi Arabia. The results of this study have major implications for policy makers, as they suggest the notion that the e-Government applications will not work without building a solid trust foundation with citizens.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document