Role of Technology and Innovation in Economic Development – A Review of Major Global Trends

Abstract

The present study has made an attempt to identify major global trends and parameters, which have led to tremendous economic and business growth in the US and a few more progressive EU28 (European Union) countries, besides Japan, China, and other emerging economies. The macrolevel approach has been adopted in collection and analysis of secondary data and information, by referring to the specialized reports of many reputed international and national organizations. Towards the study objectives, structural change in the economy of a country, with special reference to the role of manufacturing in the developed and developing regions of the world, has been studied in detail. In this context, the contribution of specialized human capital having strong basic and advanced higher education coupled with training in new skills in developing technological capabilities of a country has been highlighted. The need for formulation of innovation development policies to launch new technologies and products for economic and social development has also been analysed with specific focus areas where a country’s national government should work on. The importance of investment in knowledge based capital(KBC) has been highlighted to explain the comparative advantage enjoyed by advanced countries such as the US, leading countries of western Europe/EU28, besides Japan, China, and Korea, who have positioned themselves in high-value industries and market segments. Because of high quality of KBC, the concentration of R&D corporate investors lies in the US, and Japan, followed by France, UK, and Germany besides Spain, Brazil and Canada. USA also happens to be the largest R&D spender in the world followed by China and EU28 countries. The top most countries like USA, Japan and Korea collectively lead in designing disruptive technologies to launch new products and firms. Chinese companies are also figuring in this category though with a minor share at present. The research study also highlights the impact of ICT technology on business organizations in detail. Three analytical case studies, (a) pertaining to the use of digital technologies in creating Tech Hubs in a few African countries, (b) investment in technology applications to enhance business process operations, across various specialized functional areas of firms in different industries, and (c) survey of Indian manufacturing industry for 2016 have also been carried out to meet the objectives of this study.