Empirics of Technology: A Primer for Nota

What technology is in popular parlance is not what technology is to an economist. The ordinary mind thinks technology is the gamut of information communication technologies and everything else sophisticated enough to make all human actions and production processes easy and fast. 

This layman perspective is somewhat relevant to the economist, since ease of doing things can promote economic efficiency, productivity growth and economic growth


Further to this, Merriam-Webster's dictionary presents notable definitions of technology:

■ The practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area;

■ A capability given by the practical application of knowledge; 

■ A manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge and new technologies for information storage;

■ The specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavour.


To an economist, technology refers to the manner in which varied factor inputs in a production function are combined. While we may broadly classify a production process as capital-intensive, labour-intensive, or perhaps information-intensive, we understand that there are additional social and environmental factors that contribute to the efficiency of any economic activity.


For instance, prevailing culture, social institutions, and governance infrastructure are factors that have been observed to determine the extent to which production activity in a geographical territory can be efficient and sustainable. Developed countries tend to have better and more efficient production systems than developing countries.


Empirical literature is replete with evidence on the impact of factors such as institutional quality, culture, political stability, on economic growth, effectiveness of foreign aid, and a wide range of socio-economic outcomes. 


In a growing knowledge economy, the effect of growth in the adoption of ICTs on education, health and local labour productivity can not be overemphasized. 


For instance, in recent years, the dynamic development of mobile telephony systems and its associated technologies is considered a vehicle for financial development and financial inclusion in developing countries. 


In light of the foregoing, there are several latent questions in area of technological progress and economic development. Some of these include:

■ What is the relationship between technological innovation and economic diversification?

■ What are the determinants of ICT adoption in a country?

■ What is the effect of governance quality on long run economic growth? 

■ What are the determinants of financial development?

■ How does institutional quality impact on economic growth?

■ What is the effect of innovation on labour productivity?

■ How does institutional quality impact on income inequality?

■ What is the impact of ICTs adoption on educational outcomes?

■ How does institutional quality impact on environmental sustainability? 

■ What is the effect of rate of technological advancement on economic development?  

■ What is the impact of mobile technologies on the size and growth of informal sector?

■ What is the impact of ICTs adoption on growth of knowledge economy?

■ What is effect of digital technology on international trade?

■ What is impact of a digital divide on social inclusion?

■ How does the digital economy impact on domestic private investment?

■ What is the role of ICTs and public policy in enhancing institutional quality?

■ What is the effect of technology adoption on environmental pollution?

■ What is the impact of innovation on human capital development? 

■ What is the impact of technological progress on indoor environmental quality? 

■ What is the effect of innovation on economic growth? 

■ What is the impact of technological innovation on educational quality?

■ What is the impact of technological innovation on unemployment? 

■ To what extent does technological progress affect trade openness?

■ How does technological progress influence the structure of an economy? 

■ What is the effect of digital innovation on human well being?

■ What is the impact of internet and digital technology on mental wellness?

■ What are the determinants of digital economy growth?

■ What is the nature relationship between innovation and financial inclusion?

■ What is the effect of globalisation on long-run economic development?

■ What is the impact of technological innovation on international migration?

■ How does the rate of technical progress impact on the degree of urbanisation?

■ What is the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship development?

...

Please consult existing literature on relevant areas of technology and development in order to establish research gaps worthy of investigation.

Photo credit: ACM

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