Report Cf Working Group 4 Special Problems Of
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- 1 - ~orking Group 4 15th Pugwa~Conference on ~ cienc e and World Affairs Addis 11baba 2 29th Dece mber 1965 - 3rd J a n uary 1966 . REPORT CF WOR KING GROUP 4 SPECIAL PRO BL EMS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRI ES I. Introduction 1. Devel opment i s a multi d i mensional p r ocess i n which n a tur a l and soc i a l s cientists must wo r k togethe r to ob t ain a f ull under s t anding o f i t s pr oblems a n d t o arrive at a meaningful str ategy . The nat ural scientist s mus t evalua~ . a n a tion' s ~ resources and determine .. f easible t e chnologie s fer the i r expl oitation . he so- cial scientist s analyse thes e possibilities , in the light of the nation' s e c onomic r esour ces , test the economic and socia l consequences of alternative t e chn ologies , and calculate probable costs a nd b enefits f r om any suggested devel opment decision. Both natural and soci a l scientists a r e expected to put forward to the pol i tic i ans the d i r ect and ind irect costs of var ious a ltc rnQtive choices . The r esponsibility of the politici ans to mJ ke a choice from amongst altern~tives is clear . 2 . Developi ng countries need to est a blish the following l ines of pol icy f or r apid and orderly pr ogress : I n politics : a n e fficient system of administration which can wi n the r espect and loyalty of the citi z ens and can mobilize the ir efforts and enthusiasm. In economic policy : a developmen t pl~n t hat is based on sci entific rese& rch a nd social r e form , a nd has the capa city to make the mos t productive use of r esources . In social policy: a program that e nsures equality of oppor tuni ty for education a nd social we l fare a nd a n equitable d i str ibuti on o f income . In inte rnati onal r e l ations: a policy of non- ali gnment . There a r e ofte n pussible conflicts between r ation a l economic decisions and social for ces , a nd between the e conomic r ealities of international econ om ic - 2 - Wor k i n g Group 4 inte r dependence and the p ursui t of non- a lignm e n t. ~ fforts must b e ma de to s olve t h e se proble ms t h r ough a ~r agma tic r a the r t han ~ doctri n a i r e appr oach . II I n t e r n a t iona l Aspe cts of De vel opme n t 1. The r e l axa t i on of i nt e r na t i onal t en s i ons , with t he s ubsequent r e duction in arma me nts wo uld not only l e ad to t he c r e-,t i on of bett e r conditions for r apid p rogre ss in t h e developi ng n a tions , but a l s o woul d make possible the trans f e r of much neede d r esource s , b ot h fina n c i a l and pb y s i cal , from the destructive pur pos e s o f a r mamen t s to the constr uctive task of wo rld dev e l opme nt. 2 . f h e n eeds o f dev e l opi ng countries fo r i nt e r nat i ona l a i d and t e chnic a l a ssista nc e will continue f or ye~r s to come . Don or c ountrie s should : (a) give great e r c onsider ~t ion to the t ype and qua lity of t he ir a s sistanc e in the ligh t of de v e l oping countrie s ' needs , ( b) expand t heir c apa city t o provide t he right kind o f t e chn i c a l a ssisti nc e skills by a rrangement s with g ove rnme nt agencie s , unive r s itie s, institutions , a nd f i rms ; (c) de v e l op t r a i nin g f a cilitie s designe d to mee t the s ~ecific r e quir ement s of d e v e lopi nb count r ies . 3 . De velop ment i s a funda men t a l str uct ura l change in a ttitudes , va lue s a nd wa y of life . The p e ople of t he dev e lopi ng countrie s must want to t a ke initia tive s ~ to ma k e dec i s i ons a nd to par t icipat e i n t he de v e l opme n t e f fort . ~he se c a n b e brought a bo u t only by inte rna l efforts . A ma r gin 1 add i t i on of e xpe rts , through inte r nationa l a i d a nd t c chnicu l a ssi st. ne e , to a de velop i ng country ' s stc ck o f skille d ma np owe r is not a mag ic f 0r mula f or dev e l op ment . Interna tional a s s istanc e will b e use f u l only i f the right clim ,t e a nd s truc t u r e of c hange a r e be ing e sta blishe d in t h e country. 4 On e of the most importa n t e l e men t s of e conomic a nd t e chnica l assista nce t o t he young s t ate s is the tra,,s f e r of t he r ich industr ial a nd t e chnica l e xpe rie nc e a ccumula t ed by the dev e l ope d countries . ~hi s i n cludes : tra nsfe rring industrial e quipme nt, construc ting i n dus trial l ente rprises , f r oviding techn ica l docume nta tion , a n d t e a c h ing nation a l cadr e s . In t h e p a s t such trans f e r s hn v e r a r e ly brought the full ga i n s the y a r e c apabl e o f. I n part ~t l eas t this has b een du e to the - 3 - 11,orking Gr oup 4 f a ilure of f or e ign consultants , p~rticularly those with equipment to sell r to evaluate p r ojects in t e rms of a developing country ' s needs r tech~ologidal equip ment and e c onomic costs . 5 ~ Because the pr oduc tion . r obl ems o f the developed countries o ft e n diffe r sharply from t hose of developing countries , the latte r cannot a fford s i mp ly to r e ly on the technical and e c onomic advice of the f or me r. ~hey need to evaluate i ndustrial pro j e cts independently from their own point of view and to adapt e xist ing industrial technology to the ir ow n r equirements. Ai d i ng countries shoul d r e cognize that in the short run investment in buil d ing up the indigenous 8Xp e rtise o.f developing countries is pe rhc, ps the mos t 1,,roductivo form of assista.n ce the y c a n give; in the long run it will contribute to the ~orld pool of scienc e a nd t e chnology . 6 . The growth process in f as t de v e loping countries is ~l most a lways a ccompa n - i ed by incren sing dG fie its in tL.eir baL.. nce o f po.yments . 'l'he i ncreasing ina bility of these countries to ~ay for the ca~ital a nd industria l goods they need , is aggr avated by the unfuvourJble terms of trade they are f acing . Prices o f exportable raw materials and acricult ural products from developing countries a r e f alling, a nd in the long r un will rrob~bly continue to f a ll , in r e l ation to the price of manufa ctured goods . Efforts to remedy these conditions mus t be supported at the h ighes t l e v e ls , a nd a compensatory mo.chinery must be brought into ope r ation through e xisting inte r n o. tional inst itutions or new ones , est ablis h ed sol e ly fo r this pur pose . III Development Planning 1 . Pl a nning ..:i.ge ncies in many developing nations have t ended t o shy away from pos itive d e velopmen t a ction ~nd to concentr a te on the aggr egat e profil e of the economy .