DOCSLIB.ORG

Leapfrogging: Look Before You Leap

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Leapfrogging: Look Before You Leap UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT No.71 DECEMBER 2018 LEAPFROGGING: LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP New technologies, such as digital mobile communications, drones for precision agriculture and decentralized renewable energy systems that provide electricity in rural areas far from the grid, open up opportunities for leapfrogging. As developing countries have limited capabilities, opportunities for leapfrogging in these countries are presented primarily through the adoption of technologies. Innovation policies can help developing countries foster and facilitate the deployment of frontier technologies and their adaptation to meet their needs, to promote sustainable development.1 Frontier technologies and Potential for leapfrogging leapfrogging In large part, the experience of the ICT Discussions of the developmental dimension sector has brought increased attention to of frontier technologies, particularly digital leapfrogging. Rapid technological advances technologies, often highlight the possibility and cost reductions in ICT in recent decades have enabled some developing countries, POLICY BRIEF of “leapfrogging”, the concept of “bypassing intermediate stages of technology through notably in Africa and Asia, to skip the Key points which countries have historically passed development of landline infrastructure by 2 moving directly to mobile telecommunications. • Countries engage in during the development process”. The leapfrogging by bypassing traditional notion of “catch-up” refers For example, in the early 2000s, Cambodia, the imtermediate stages of to the narrowing of gaps in income and Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Nepal technology in a development technological capabilities between a late- and Timor-Leste had less than three fixed- process. telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, • Rapid technological advances developing country and a front-runner and cost reductions in country. Historically, this has entailed a well below the global average of 23.1. Mobile ICT have enabled some sequential process of learning by latecomers subscriptions were also marginal (figure 1). developing countries to By 2017, however, these countries had skip the development of in skills, process technology, design and landline infrastructure by product development. A major barrier is the bypassed the landline infrastructure and moving directly to mobile need to learn product design and acquire the reached levels of mobile subscriptions per telecommunications. capability to create new products, as front- 100 inhabitants that were above the global • To support leapfrogging, average of 108.9: Gambia (139.2), Côte d’Ivoire countries need strategic runner firms are generally unwilling to grant innovation policies, sound licences to catching-up firms. (130.7), Ghana (127.5), Nepal (123.2), Timor- infrastructure and institutions, Leste (119.3), Cambodia (116) and Mali (112.4). and appropriate technological However, the nature of recent technological Most developing countries have followed standards. advances, notably in information and the same pattern. For example, in 2017, the communications technology (ICT) and energy, mobile penetration rate in those countries was means that catch-up no longer requires 98.7 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, following the paths of frontrunners, as it can while that of fixed telephones was be achieved by leapfrogging. 8 per 100 inhabitants.3 1 This policy brief is based on UNCTAD, 2018, Technology and Innovation Report 2018: Harnessing Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.18.II.D.3, New York and Geneva). 2 UNCTAD, 2018, p. 84. 3 UNCTAD calculations, based on data from the International Telecommunication Union. Figure 1 Countries that leapfrogged to mobile technology: A comparison of (a) fixed-telephone and (b) mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, 2000 and 2017 a) b) 23.1 16.0 18.0 World average 108.9 2.7 0.5 1.9 Gambia 139.2 1.6 2.8 1.3 Côte d'Ivoire 130.7 1.1 0.7 1.0 Ghana 127.5 1.1 0.0 2.9 Nepal 123.2 0.2 2.1 0.2 Timor-Leste 119.3 0.3 1.1 0.8 Cambodia 116.0 0.4 0.1 1.1 Mali 112.4 2017 2000 2000 2017 Source: UNCTAD calculations based on data from the International Telecommunication Union. Note: Earliest data for Timor-Leste is for 2003; latest data for Gambia and Mali is for 2016. The rapid adoption of mobile technology has An example of the potential for leapfrogging not only contributed to increased productivity in frontier technologies is the development and new markets, it has also enabled innovative of decentralized renewable energy systems. financial technology services. Examples Prices in renewables have fallen sharply in are the M-Pesa mobile banking system recent years as investments have increased. and Grass Roots Bima insurance company Since 2009, the cost of wind turbines has in Kenya, and the Flutterwave technology dropped by nearly 33 per cent, and that of company for large financial institutions in solar photovoltaic modules, by 80 per cent, Nigeria. And they all bear major implications making both technologies increasingly for financial inclusion. For instance, in 2017, competitive with fossil fuel generation. Solar countries in sub-Saharan Africa had the energy is now the cheapest generation highest percentage of adults with a mobile technology in many parts of the world. money account, with a regional average of 21 per cent, compared with 4 per cent Cost reductions represent an opportunity worldwide. According to the Global Financial for electrification in rural areas, especially in Inclusion Database, the following countries developing countries, through off-grid and are leaders in mobile financial inclusion, mini-grid solutions. with over a quarter of the adults in the first An analysis using geospatial data shows four income deciles using a mobile account that to bring electricity to all households in service: Kenya (59 per cent), Uganda sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, the most cost- (40 per cent), Zimbabwe (40 per cent), Gabon effective mix of conventional and renewable (37 per cent), Ghana (32 per cent), the United energy technologies for several countries Republic of Tanzania (30 per cent), Namibia would be off-grid and mini-grid solutions using (29 per cent), Côte d’Ivoire (27 per cent) and solar technology. These solutions could serve Senegal (27 per cent). a large share of the population with a lower Figure 2 Potential for leapfrogging in decentralized solar photovoltaic technology (Percentage) 90 Malawi Niger Chad 80 Mali Burkina Faso Ethiopia Zambia 70 Lesotho Central African Republic Zimbabwe 60 Mauritania Namibia 50 Angola South Sudan Gabon Botswana Somalia 40 Uganda Eritrea Sudan Democratic 2012–2030 Guinea-Bissau Republic of the Congo 30 Congo Mozambique Kenya Guinea United Republic of Tanzania 20 Nigeria Djibouti Gambia Senegal Swaziland Burundi Rwanda Liberia 10 South Africa Ghana Equatorial Cameroon Benin Togo Madagascar Guinea Côte d'Ivoire Sierra Leone and off-grid solar photovoltaic technology, solar photovoltaic technology, and off-grid 0 Percentage of population served by mini-grid of population served Percentage 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percentage of population without access to electrification, 2012 Source: UNCTAD calculations based on data from the United Nations open-source spatial electrification tool. Note: Electrification scenario considers 22 kWh of electricity consumption per household per year, grid electricity cost of $ 0.1 per kWh and cost of diesel of $ 0.7 per litre. cost in the following countries: Malawi machines, and is based on developments (84 per cent of the population), Chad in Internet technology, smartphones and (83 per cent), the Niger (80 per cent), Burkina new sensing technology. In Bangladesh, Faso (78 per cent), Mali (74 per cent), Ethiopia the Internet of things is being used to assess (73 per cent), Zambia (72 per cent), Lesotho groundwater chemistry and protect people in (67 per cent), the Central African Republic the Ganges Delta from drinking water that is (62 per cent), Zimbabwe (60 per cent), contaminated with arsenic. This lessens the Mauritania (57 per cent) and South Sudan need for investments in the implementation (53 per cent) (figure 2). In many cases, a wide and maintenance of traditional monitoring electrification gap – the percentage of the networks. population without access to electricity – Small-scale satellites are used in is associated with a large potential for communication networks and applications leapfrogging. These countries are represented that draw on high-resolution imagery in on the right-hand side of figure 2. Exceptions monitoring land use and urban planning, are due to factors such as a higher density for example. These satellites will soon be of population close to existing or already affordable for more developing countries, planned national grids, which reduce the businesses and universities, diminishing need for off-grid and mini-grid solutions. the need for investment in more costly and Frontier technologies traditional satellite technologies. as an alternative to traditional These examples highlight the potential paradigms for leapfrogging through the adoption of Many leapfrogging opportunities are in technologies developed elsewhere. technologies that offer an alternative solution for costly investment in infrastructure related Leapfrogging and the to traditional technological paradigms. development of new technologies For example, mobile and renewable energy Another type of leapfrogging is through the technologies eliminate
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mobile Leapfrogging and Digital Divide Policy Assessing the Limitations of Mobile Internet Access
    New America Foundation Mobile Leapfrogging and Digital Divide Policy Assessing the limitations of mobile Internet access By Philip M. Napoli and Jonathan A. Obar1 April 2013 This paper examines the emerging global phenomenon of mobile leapfrogging in Internet access. Leapfrogging refers to the process in which new Internet users are obtaining access by mobile devices and are skipping the traditional means of access: personal computers. This leapfrogging of PC-based Internet access has been hailed in many quarters as an important means of rapidly and inexpensively reducing the gap in Internet access between developed and developing nations, thereby reducing the need for policy interventions to address this persistent digital divide. This paper offers a critical perspective on the process of mobile leapfrogging. Drawing upon data on Internet access and device penetration from 34 countries, this paper first shows that while greater access to mobile technologies suggests the possibility of a leapfrog effect, the lack of 3G adoption suggests that mobile phones are not yet acting as functionally equivalent substitutes for personal computers. Next, this paper puts forth a set of concerns regarding the limitations and potential shortcomings of mobile-based Internet access relative to traditional PC-based Internet access. This paper illustrates a number of important relative shortcomings in terms of memory and speed, content availability, network architecture, and patterns of information seeking and content creation amongst users. This paper concludes that policymakers should be cautions about promoting mobile access as a solution to the digital divide, and undertake policy reforms that ensure that communities that rely on mobile as their only gateway to the Internet do not get left further behind.
    [Show full text]
  • The Trajectory of the Anthropocene: the Great Acceleration
    ANR0010.1177/2053019614564785The Anthropocene ReviewSteffen et al. 564785research-article2015 Review The Anthropocene Review 1 –18 The trajectory of the © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: Anthropocene: The Great sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/2053019614564785 Acceleration anr.sagepub.com Will Steffen,1,2 Wendy Broadgate,3 Lisa Deutsch,1 Owen Gaffney3 and Cornelia Ludwig1 Abstract The ‘Great Acceleration’ graphs, originally published in 2004 to show socio-economic and Earth System trends from 1750 to 2000, have now been updated to 2010. In the graphs of socio-economic trends, where the data permit, the activity of the wealthy (OECD) countries, those countries with emerging economies, and the rest of the world have now been differentiated. The dominant feature of the socio-economic trends is that the economic activity of the human enterprise continues to grow at a rapid rate. However, the differentiated graphs clearly show that strong equity issues are masked by considering global aggregates only. Most of the population growth since 1950 has been in the non-OECD world but the world’s economy (GDP), and hence consumption, is still strongly dominated by the OECD world. The Earth System indicators, in general, continued their long-term, post-industrial rise, although a few, such as atmospheric methane concentration and stratospheric ozone loss, showed a slowing or apparent stabilisation over the past decade. The post-1950 acceleration in the Earth System indicators remains clear. Only beyond the mid-20th century is there clear evidence for fundamental shifts in the state and functioning of the Earth System that are beyond the range of variability of the Holocene and driven by human activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Leapfrogging Technology
    privateP UBLIC POLICY FORsector THE NOTE NUMBER 254 Leapfrogging Technology Masami Kojima FEBRUARY 2003 Masami Kojima is a lead Cost-Effective Solution for Pollution in Developing Countries? energy and environment specialist at the World Leapfrogging technology makes sense where technological advances Bank focusing on joint are driven by market demand, as in telecommunications and energy, environment, and transport policy issues, information technology. But technological advances driven by the especially fuel quality, need to deal with such externalities as pollution are more vehicle emission control, fuel pricing policy, and the complicated, for they do not inherently increase profitability or health impact of pollution. efficiency. Using air pollution by vehicles as an illustration, this Note She has worked on these issues in Bank programs examines the issues that need to be considered in deciding whether in Latin America, South leapfrogging technology is a cost-effective solution. Asia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. The pace of technological advance in the past ernment budget, removing one of the potential few decades has opened new possibilities. obstacles to implementation. Consider the technology for controlling emis- sions from cars, buses, and trucks. Government Danger of considering technology-based regulations have driven this technology as much regulations in isolation as the technology has driven regulations, result- The argument is appealing. If all else remained ing in vehicle emission standards in industrial the same, imposing stringent standards that PRIVATE SECTOR AND INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK countries that have become increasingly require the best available technology would stringent—far more so than those in developing indeed improve air quality, reduce illness, and countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Vertical Innovation Industry Development to Enable Leapfrogging, Superior Competitiveness and Innovation
    BACKGROUND NOTE Vertical Innovation Industry Development to Enable Leapfrogging, Superior Competitiveness and Innovation René Rohrbeck, Olga Kokshagina, and Susann Roth DISCLAIMER This background paper was prepared for the report Asian Development Outlook 2020: What Drives Innovation in Asia? It is made available here to communicate the results of the underlying research work with the least possible delay. The manuscript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formally-edited texts. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. The ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this document and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by ADB in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or use of the term “country” in this document, is not intended to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this document do not imply any judgment on the part of the ADB concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. VERTICAL INNOVATION INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT To Enable Leapfrogging, Superior Competitiveness, and Innovation René Rohrbeck, Olga Kokshagina, and Susann Roth1 A.
    [Show full text]
  • The Trajectory of the Anthropocene: The
    ANR0010.1177/2053019614564785The Anthropocene ReviewSteffen et al. 564785research-article2015 Review The Anthropocene Review 1 –18 The trajectory of the © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: Anthropocene: The Great sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/2053019614564785 Acceleration anr.sagepub.com Will Steffen,1,2 Wendy Broadgate,3 Lisa Deutsch,1 Owen Gaffney3 and Cornelia Ludwig1 Abstract The ‘Great Acceleration’ graphs, originally published in 2004 to show socio-economic and Earth System trends from 1750 to 2000, have now been updated to 2010. In the graphs of socio-economic trends, where the data permit, the activity of the wealthy (OECD) countries, those countries with emerging economies, and the rest of the world have now been differentiated. The dominant feature of the socio-economic trends is that the economic activity of the human enterprise continues to grow at a rapid rate. However, the differentiated graphs clearly show that strong equity issues are masked by considering global aggregates only. Most of the population growth since 1950 has been in the non-OECD world but the world’s economy (GDP), and hence consumption, is still strongly dominated by the OECD world. The Earth System indicators, in general, continued their long-term, post-industrial rise, although a few, such as atmospheric methane concentration and stratospheric ozone loss, showed a slowing or apparent stabilisation over the past decade. The post-1950 acceleration in the Earth System indicators remains clear. Only beyond the mid-20th century is there clear evidence for fundamental shifts in the state and functioning of the Earth System that are beyond the range of variability of the Holocene and driven by human activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Read an Abstract of Her Msc Dissertation
    Abstract How may innovation policies and the length of cycle of technologies determine the ability of developing states to achieve technological leapfrogging? Author: Olayinka Bandele Supervisor: Professor Daniele Archibuigi Year of Award: 2018 Keywords: technological leapfrogging, technology transfer, patents, short-cycle industries, innovation, decision-making firms, technological turning point, catching-up, Purpose of the Study This study explores the phenomena of ‘technological leapfrogging’ of developing states and asks the question ‘what are the predictors of technological transformation of these economies?’ The study builds on analyses of short-cycle technologies as a pathway to technological upgrading and the convergence of middle-income economies with developed states. A gap in the literature reveals a lack of research on decision-making of domestic firms within developing states, particularly as influenced by national innovation systems and government policy. Bridging this gap in the literature could further understanding of how these firms navigate competitive forces as they seek to upgrade technology or move into new technologies? This paper considers whether predictions may be made of the point at which a country passes a ‘technological leapfrogging marker or turning point?’ Whilst a number of studies in the literature present concepts on how technological transformation and leapfrogging may occur, there is limited research analysis presented on the theoretical prediction of the leapfrogging phenomena. Further research would enrich understanding of the technological transformation process within key sectors of developing states. Research Design Methodology and Findings The research utilizes a quantitative research methodological approach. A regression analysis was undertaken utilizing patent data of 46 countries over a 25-year period sourced from the US patent classification agency, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Challenges in the Anthropocene
    Ignazio Musu, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Economic challenges in the Anthropocene. 1 What is Anthropocene. •Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen (2002): for the past three centuries, profound shift between humans and the rest of nature; unprecedented influence of human action. •The Earth system has left the interglacial (Holocene) era and entered a new one: Anthropocene. •The qualitative shift was determined by the industrial era. •Energy bottleneck in the final stage of Holocene removed by diffusion of fossil fuels. 2 During Holocene: •Impact of preindustrial human societies on environment (through hunting, gathering and, later on, agriculture) within the bounds of environment’s natural variability (Steffen and al., 2007). •Constraints to energy available: • Water and wind power only in favorite locations and limited by importable technologies (of watermills, sailing ships and windmills). • Energy from animals (and through them from plants) limited by land suitable for crops and forage. 3 • Fossil fuels removed the energy bottleneck by offering access to carbon stored from millions of years of photosynthesis. • Industrial societies use four or five times as much energy as did agrarian societies , which in turn used three or four times as much as did hunting and gathering societies (Steffen and al., 2007). • Examples of scientific and technological progress based on fossil fuels: • Invention (and refinement) of the steam engine by James Watt in the 1780s; • Ammonia synthesis from atmospheric nitrogen pioneered by Fritz Haber (the Haber-Bosch synthesis) in the early 20th century. 4 Summary on energy transitions (Scott Taylor, 2012) •Biomass (old green power) to Coal •Coal to Liquid Fuels – Oil and Natural Gas •Liquid Fuels – New Green Power (?) •Past transitions were very slow and of relatively small magnitude.
    [Show full text]
  • T Technology Leapfrogging for Developing Countries
    Category: Global Information Technology 3707 Technology Leapfrogging for Developing T Countries Michelle W. L. Fong Victoria University, Australia INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have “Technology leapfrogging” refers to the adoption of ad- been acknowledged, in research works on developed and vanced or state-of-the-art technology in an application area industrialized countries, for their potential in opening up where immediate prior technology has not been adopted. development opportunities. At firm level, ICTs can facilitate Discussions of ICT leapfrogging have largely focused on communications and coordination of processes within a firm developing countries, which generally lag behind on tech- or between firms in a supply chain such as through e-col- nology adoption, and unlike the developed countries, are laboration (Fong, 2005; Hammant, 1995; Jin, 2006; Porter, not inhibited by entrenched intermediate technology. New 2001; Porter & Millar, 1985). These technologies can also and advanced technology provides developing countries improve management decision-making process through bet- with the opportunity to accelerate economic development ter and faster marshalling of information. Gains from these (Hanna, Guy, & Arnold, 1995; Prayag, 2001; OECD, 2005; applications may be in the form of scale economies, cost-sav- UNDP, 2001b). In addition, the advancement of ICTs has ings, increased productivity, and improved competitiveness reduced costs and imposed lesser demands on the skill (Bourlakis & Bourlakis, 2006; Farrell, 2003; Hammant, 1995; of the users due to user-friendly features (Ensley, 2005). Howgego, 2002; Pilat, 2004; Porter & Millar, 1985). At in- The possibility of achieving significant economic growth dustry level, ICTs can improve the functioning or governance through advanced and less costly technology thus seems of market (James, 2000; Malone, Yates, & Benjamin, 1989; exceptionally attractive to developing countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Technological and Environmental Leapfrogging in China
    Leapfrogging in China's Renewable Electricity Development Pathway? The roles of policy frameworks, innovation and international cooperation partnerships in fostering renewable electricity by Patrick Schroeder A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Studies Victoria University of Wellington 2010 1 Abstract The topic of this thesis is China‘s transition to a sustainable and low-carbon energy system based predominantly on renewable electricity supply. The specific focus is the concept of leapfrogging, frequently proposed as an alternative development strategy for China and other large developing countries to bypass the historical energy-intensive and polluting stages of development of the already industrialised countries. The thesis poses the question whether leapfrogging in China‘s renewable electricity sector occurred in the period from 2005 to 2010 and what the future potential for leapfrogging is. The specific technology focus of the thesis is renewable electricity and to some lesser degree renewable energy for heating. In this context five main areas have been looked at in detail: decentralised renewable energy technologies for rural development, innovative capacity and development of China‘s emerging renewable energy companies, application of renewable electricity and electricity saving technologies in China‘s cities, application and use of renewable technologies for large-scale electricity generation and China‘s national energy system as a whole. Two main bodies of theory are used as a conceptual framework to support the analysis: socio- technical innovation systems and global environmental governance with a focus on multi-stakeholder partnerships. This multi-disciplinary approach is applied to identify and analyse the roles of domestic policies, socio-technical innovation and international cooperation partnerships for renewable electricity development.
    [Show full text]
  • Innovation and Leapfrogging in the Chinese Automobile Industry: Examples from Geely, BYD and Shifeng Hua Wang, Chris Kimble
    Innovation and Leapfrogging in the Chinese Automobile Industry: Examples from Geely, BYD and Shifeng Hua Wang, Chris Kimble To cite this version: Hua Wang, Chris Kimble. Innovation and Leapfrogging in the Chinese Automobile Industry: Exam- ples from Geely, BYD and Shifeng. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, Wiley, 2013, 32 (6), pp.6-17. 10.1002/joe.21510. halshs-00859483 HAL Id: halshs-00859483 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00859483 Submitted on 8 Sep 2013 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Innovation and Leapfrogging in the Chinese Automobile Industry: Examples from Geely, BYD and Shifeng Hua Wang and Chris Kimble Abstract History provides numerous examples of incumbent market leaders being leapfrogged by newcomers that have exploited the opportunities offered by new technologies. In light of the growing number of ecological threats linked to the use of the internal combustion engine, can Chinese auto manufacturers, which are newcomers to the industry, beat out the established Japanese, European, and North American automakers in the race to produce a less environmentally damaging form of transport? Three case studies from the Chinese automobile industry reveal the different ways in which this leapfrogging might take place and highlight the impact that such developments might have on automobile manufacturers in Japan and the West, both for conventional and electric vehicles.
    [Show full text]
  • Energy Transitions and Technology Change: “Leapfrogging” Reconsidered
    Energy Transitions and Technology Change: \Leapfrogging" Reconsidered T. Robert Fetter∗ January 2018 Preliminary Draft Please do not cite or circulate without permission Abstract Innovations in energy production, conversion and efficient use create oppor- tunities for low-income nations to skip or \leapfrog" over older technologies that dominated the development paths of today's industrialized countries. Nonethe- less, countervailing trends, policy choices, or institutional features may hinder the ability of low-income countries to take advantage of these opportunities. Understanding the relationship between economic growth, energy consump- tion, and pollution provides an important guide for forecasting energy use and environmental impacts. Some prior research suggests that the energy intensity of economic growth is higher for today's developing countries than developing countries of the past. I assemble an unbalanced panel of energy consumption for 124 countries, extending as far back as 1861 for some countries; this long time series allows me to analyze changing relationships between energy use and economic growth at a timescale more appropriate for the long-term nature of energy investment. Using methods consistent with prior research, but a longer time series, I find evidence that the energy intensity of economic growth is in fact lower for today's developing countries. In ongoing research, I analyze how the relationship among economic output, energy use, and pollution has changed over time, as well as heterogeneous institutional, financial and environmental factors that predict greater or lesser energy intensity with respect to economic growth. ∗Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University: Gross Hall, 140 Science Drive, Suite 101, Durham NC 27708; [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Global Inequality: Bringing Politics Back In
    Third World Quarterly, Vol 23, No 6, pp 1023–1046, 2002 Global inequality: bringing politics back in JAN NEDERVEEN PIETERSE ABSTRACT Data on contemporary global inequality are dramatic, widely known and a new conventional backdrop. In research and policy economists lead the way and the emphasis is on global poverty rather than inequality. Within nations poverty is a challenge, while inequality is not; on a world scale, arguably it is the other way round. The international policy focus on poverty alleviation coexists with neoliberal policies that widen inequality domestically and internationally. A strategic question is where the data depart from the conventional wisdom. Thus a general assumption is that inequality within countries is largest in poor countries; the widest inequality, however, is found within the USA and UK. The conventional assumption is that neoliberal policies and free trade lift all tides; those countries and periods, however, where this policy has been most consistently implemented show the steepest increase in inequality. Global inequality helps sustain domestic privilege. The belief that the risks that global inequality poses can be contained in the global margins is contradicted by the cross-border effects of environmental degradation, migration, transnational crime and terrorism. In explaining global inequality, economic accounts ignore inequal relations of power. The combined policies of developmental discipline, global integration, and marginalisation and containment may be viewed as part of a single process of hierarchical integration, which has turbulence built in. The data on contemporary human inequality are dramatic and widely known. Consider the relative income shares of the richest and poorest 20% of the world’s people.
    [Show full text]