Abstract:
For the efficient transfer of technology, it is essential that the receiving country should have a certain minimum level of infrastructure as well as a definite capability for indigenous research and development. This capability is even more significant when a project is to be done entirely with indigenous resources. Accordingly, the present communication gives an outline of the factors on which this capability would depend, and describes the derivation and testing of a "Development Index" proposed for measuring this capability. Starting from G.N.P. x per capita G.N.P. as a first approximation, the most generally applicable Development Index is found to be:7. Dev.Index- (G.N.P.)0.55 x(per capita G.N.P.)u 45 This particular development index is tested for the cases of the nuclear explosion capability, for which recent and accurate data are available, and it is found that the values of this Index lie on a smooth curve showing a rapid initial drop for each succeeding repetion, followed by an asymptotic approach to a limiting minimum that is about half the starting value(for the first country in the field.) A similar behaviour is found for other categories of projects like aircraft manufacture and large dam construction. The index values appear to be reliable to within+ 20%, and it can be concluded that developing-countries will have identical or similar growth patterns when plotted in terms of the above Development Index. Thus, the index can be used to predict the most suitable projects to be taken up by a country at a given time. The effect of intimate collaboration between two or more similar countries would be to correspondingly increase the effective value of the index through the first (G.N.P.) factor.
Page(s):
9-18
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Proceedings of Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Volume: 11, Issue: 1, Year: 1974