TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT - LESSONS FROM SUCCESS STORIES

The interactional relationships among technological change, cultural heritage, institutional innovations and economic development are examined. These issues are addressed from an analysis of the development experience of success stories in technology borrowing and development, namely, New England, Japan and Sweden. The purpose of the review of development experience is (a) to identify certain similarities in successful cases of development thereby focussing on the necessary conditions for successful development and (b) to draw attention to some profound differences which animate these experiences and which stem from their different histories and cultural and geographical factors. These differences, among the success stories, reflect the specific blend in each case of four key developmental facets - culture, institutional structure, rational choice, and history - which jointly determine the distinctive character of the social transformation and the subsequent developmental trajectories in each country.