Local development and technological innovation in Algeria: experiences and perspectives

The starting point of the present paper is the idea that to define a regional development policy which should effectively respond to the new challenges of the future, in particular to the globalisation of the economy and the acceleration of technological changes, it is necessary to think about new methods that grant a privilege to the local solution, using to the maximum the local skills, the national technological strength, the creative and innovative capabilities existents. But, referring to the Mediterranean basin, there are major disparities between regions and countries in the field of innovation and R&D, as also in the level of diffusion of modern information and communication technologies. In particular some Third Mediterranean countries as also some regions of South Europe, if on the one hand have clear difficulties in developing modern forms of industrialisation capable to insure an access to the international markets, on the other need to increase the competitiveness of their firms, to improve their strengths and to compensate the disadvantages due to their periphericity by developing their international contacts with neighbouring countries in the Mediterranean Basin. This study identifies and analyses the policies adopted by Algeria in the development of technological and managerial capabilities to highlight the facilities and the constraints for implementing and managing advanced technology and innovation in the economic lagging regions and to explore ways of innovative co-operation in this field.

The role of government in agricultural innovation: Lessons from Bolivia

"Many governments in developing countries attempt to foster agricultural development and innovation by setting up funding facilities, extension programs, and research centers and by subsidizing private-sector and farm activities through fiscal measures. However, when trying to manage complex innovation processes involving many and different actors, governments sometimes find it difficult to design effective interventions and therefore end up supporting and managing only the public research and extension organizations that directly depend upon them. With the aid of various donors, Bolivia introduced a scheme in 2001—the Bolivian Agricultural Technology System (SIBTA)—by which government support to agricultural research and extension was partly delegated to regional semiautonomous foundations. This brief presents the results of a study on the role of the Bolivian government in guiding and managing SIBTA. The study found that despite a number of weaknesses related to the design of the system and the government's limited commitment, the regional foundations have been able to effectively identify the demands of small farmers, set priorities, and provide transparency and accountability with regard to funding and decisionmaking. It suggests that instead of micromanaging such foundations, the government should focus on the big picture and conduct policy analysis and strategic planning to identify opportunities for agricultural innovation and set up incentive mechanisms and information networks that support the many actors involved in innovation processes." from textAgricultural innovations, Private sector, Technological innovations, Agricultural research, Agricultural development, stakeholders, Farmers, Producer organizations, Extension,

Managing the radio spectrum : framework for reform in developing countries

Bringing management of the radio spectrum closer to markets is long overdue. The radio spectrum is a major component of the infrastructure that underpins the information society. Spectrum management, however, has not kept up with major changes in technology, business practice, and economic policy that have taken place worldwide during the last two decades. For many years traditional government administration of the spectrum worked reasonably well, but more recently it has led to growing technical and economic inefficiencies as well as obstacles to technological innovation. Two alternative approaches to spectrum management are being tried in several countries, one driven by the market (tradable spectrum rights) and another driven by technology innovation (spectrum commons). This paper discusses the basic features, advantages and limitations, scope of application, and requirements for implementation of these three approaches. The paper then discusses how these approaches can be made to work under conditions that typically prevail in developing countries, including weak rule of law, limited markets, and constrained fiscal space. Although spectrum reform strategies for individual countries must be developed case by case, several broadly applicable strategic options are outlined. The paper proposes a phased approach to addressing spectrum reform in a country. It ends by discussing aspects of institutional design, managing the transition, and addressing high-level changes such as the transition to digital television, the path to third-generation mobile services, launching of wireless fixed broadband services, and releasing military spectrum. The paper is extensively annotated and referenced.E-Business,Roads&Highways,Telecommunications Infrastructure,Climate Change,ICT Policy and Strategies

The impact of the national innovation systems on the flow and benefits of foreign direct investment to national economics.

In the increasingly globalising economy, the flow of foreign direct investment(FDI) is seen as an important source for achieving greater and faster economic growth, particularly in the emerging market economies and other developing countries. Studies on FDI focus on different aspects such as impact of FDI on economic growth, its linkages to foreign trade, its contribution to technology diffusion and human capital formation in the local economy, its social and environmental impacts on host countries, the factors that determine different level of flow of FDI to different countries, the link between FDI and international production, trade and technology development. Such studies mainly highlighted that there are benefits as well as costs from FDI for the host countries (e.g. OECD, 2002; Wei, 2005; Chakraborty and Basu, 2002; Rajan, 2005). The benefits include technology spillovers, human capital formation, international trade integration, competitive environment, and enterprise development, and so on. The costs include balance of payment problems due to repatriation of profit, failure to link with local communities, negative impact on local environment, social destabilisation due to rapid commercialisation, impact on competition in national market, host country failing to benefit from technology and know how transfer, and loss of political sovereignty. Although it is found that the overall benefits are greater than costs, it is pointed out that benefits of FDI are not automatic, particularly for developing countries. It is suggested that these countries need to pursue appropriate policy regimes and should have “a basic level of development”. Various studies suggest that not only the volume and nature of FDI flow varies greatly across the emerging and less developed economies, but also their ability to absorb and benefit from them and how effectively they use FDI to enhance their national productive systems varies greatly. In this paper we would argue that this capacity is directly related to the degree of functioning of an economy’s national innovation system. If FDI is one key route for the introduction of knowledge, technology or innovation that is new to a national economy, it matters a lot how the network of institutions, ideas, policies, strategies, agents and incentives are organised, and work in tandem with logic and coherence and thus communicate and interact effectively to bring transformation. How well the latter are organised, interfacing the elements of the social-economic, productive and knowledge, intersectoralising the sectors and forging interdependent agents and structures is a question of the type of national innovation system (NIS) in place. FDI is not negative or positive a priori. Its role as positive or negative should emerge in relation to specific contexts and requires contextualising it within given national systems of innovation. And we propose that the weakness or strength of the system of innovation influences whether FDI’s contribution is negative or positive. A study of FDI in relation to how different national systems with varied capacities and characteristics or the strengths and weaknesses inherent in their NIS deal and cope with FDI can yield fresh policy insight on the type of changes that must take priority to benefit from flows of FDI. In this paper we analyse the nature of the flow of FDI in some selected emerging market economies such as China, India, South Africa and few smaller economies and its impact on these national economies. We analyse the volume, nature and characteristics of the FDI inflow in these countries and whether and how NIS has shaped the flow and the impact of FDI on these economies. We focus on the issue of managing and absorbing FDI to enhance national productive systems rather than whether FDI is positive or negative

Innovate to compete: an empirical assessment of measures to enhance innovation adoption in Ghanaian quantity surveying firms

Innovation in construction services is a source of competitive advantage; thus, firms are constantly innovating new ways of working and producing new productsin order tostay in competion. Regardless of this immeasurable benefitof innovation, the Ghanaian quantity surveying (QS) firms are very sluggish in adopting innovation. Also, there is a paucity of research work that will enable QS firms to maximize innovation adoption. This study was conducted to identifyand examinemeasures to enhance innovation adoption in Ghanaian QS firms. Quantitativeapproach and census sampling techniquewere employed in the study. The dependent variables retrieved from 24 out of 43 questionnaires administered to QS firms in Accra and Kumasi were analysed using mean score and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance test. The study concluded that leadership, information and communication technology, supportive work environment, education and training policy, collaboration with partners, and organisational resources are the mostsignificant measures to enhancinginnovation adoption in Ghanaian QS firms. It is recommended thatQS firmsconstantly put into practice large spectraof new ideas in rendering services in order not to be out of competition. This study could serve asbasis for management invarious QS firms in drawing up policies to enhance innovation adoption. Also, QS firms in other developing countries particularly those in sub-Saharan Africawhere thechallenges impeding innovation are likely to be similar can also benefit from the findings. Future research could be focusedon identifying the key attributes and managing the expectations of innovation champions in the QS firms

The impact of the national innovation systems on the flow and benefits of foreign direct investment to national economics.

In the increasingly globalising economy, the flow of foreign direct investment(FDI) is seen as an important source for achieving greater and faster economic growth, particularly in the emerging market economies and other developing countries. Studies on FDI focus on different aspects such as impact of FDI on economic growth, its linkages to foreign trade, its contribution to technology diffusion and human capital formation in the local economy, its social and environmental impacts on host countries, the factors that determine different level of flow of FDI to different countries, the link between FDI and international production, trade and technology development. Such studies mainly highlighted that there are benefits as well as costs from FDI for the host countries (e.g. OECD, 2002; Wei, 2005; Chakraborty and Basu, 2002; Rajan, 2005). The benefits include technology spillovers, human capital formation, international trade integration, competitive environment, and enterprise development, and so on. The costs include balance of payment problems due to repatriation of profit, failure to link with local communities, negative impact on local environment, social destabilisation due to rapid commercialisation, impact on competition in national market, host country failing to benefit from technology and know how transfer, and loss of political sovereignty. Although it is found that the overall benefits are greater than costs, it is pointed out that benefits of FDI are not automatic, particularly for developing countries. It is suggested that these countries need to pursue appropriate policy regimes and should have “a basic level of development”. Various studies suggest that not only the volume and nature of FDI flow varies greatly across the emerging and less developed economies, but also their ability to absorb and benefit from them and how effectively they use FDI to enhance their national productive systems varies greatly. In this paper we would argue that this capacity is directly related to the degree of functioning of an economy’s national innovation system. If FDI is one key route for the introduction of knowledge, technology or innovation that is new to a national economy, it matters a lot how the network of institutions, ideas, policies, strategies, agents and incentives are organised, and work in tandem with logic and coherence and thus communicate and interact effectively to bring transformation. How well the latter are organised, interfacing the elements of the social-economic, productive and knowledge, intersectoralising the sectors and forging interdependent agents and structures is a question of the type of national innovation system (NIS) in place. FDI is not negative or positive a priori. Its role as positive or negative should emerge in relation to specific contexts and requires contextualising it within given national systems of innovation. And we propose that the weakness or strength of the system of innovation influences whether FDI’s contribution is negative or positive. A study of FDI in relation to how different national systems with varied capacities and characteristics or the strengths and weaknesses inherent in their NIS deal and cope with FDI can yield fresh policy insight on the type of changes that must take priority to benefit from flows of FDI. In this paper we analyse the nature of the flow of FDI in some selected emerging market economies such as China, India, South Africa and few smaller economies and its impact on these national economies. We analyse the volume, nature and characteristics of the FDI inflow in these countries and whether and how NIS has shaped the flow and the impact of FDI on these economies. We focus on the issue of managing and absorbing FDI to enhance national productive systems rather than whether FDI is positive or negative

Managing sustainability: the role of multinational corporations in the global south

Multinational corporations and international business practices as well as international investment are considered important elements for the diffusion of new modes of production, namely through a flow of cleaner production and new management practices such as corporate social responsibility (CSR). This view is lacking consistency and is not buttressed on strong empirical evidence. The positive driver of environmental sustainability is probably not international business and trade but strong and good institutions. The focus here is on four limitations: the context of the private firms and corporations, the workings of complex organizations, the technology and the right institutions that buttress the global, national and local contexts, taking as concrete examples some specific cases from the Global South, as Mozambique. The article concludes that these aspects have to be considered and contrasted to the technological and management solutions for sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Peculiarities in the Development of Special Economic Zones and Industrial Parks in Russia

open access journalThis paper investigates the process of developing and implementing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial parks in Russia. Governments commonly use SEZ policies to develop and diversify exports, create jobs, and launch technology and knowledge sharing. The industrial cluster concept is based on the significance of rivalry and supplier networks within the cluster, the combination of geographical specificities and government policies that lead to innovation and productivity growth. This study reveals that, in Russia, the government’s approach in developing these initiatives has strongly interfered with business activities and prevented the vital competitive and collaborative behavior of firms within these economic zones