DOCSLIB.ORG

A New Paradigm of Industrial Organization

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A New Paradigm of Industrial Organization Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Social Sciences 93 A New Paradigm of Industrial Organization The Diffusion of Technological and Managerial Innovations in the Brazilian Industry BY LEDA GITAHY ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS UPPSALA 2000 Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology presented at Uppsala University 2000 Abstract Gitahy, Leda, 2000. A New Paradigm of Industrial Organization. The Diffusion of Technological and Managerial Innovations in the Brazilian Industry. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Social Sciences 93. 48 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 91-554-4778-3. Based on the concepts of techno-economic paradigm, network and production chain, the main purpose of this dissertation is to analyse the diffusion of technological and managerial innovations in the Brazilian industry during the 1980s and the 1990s. It consists of a summary and six selected papers. Empirical studies were conducted at different moments of the re-structuring process and at different points of the production chain. The samples cover large leading firms as well as small second and third-tier suppliers in the automotive and footwear industries. They throw light on the process of diffusion and establishment of a new paradigm of industrial organization, mostly in conflict with the Taylorist/Fordist. Ideas, methods and management techniques were largely adopted and imitated from the so-called “Japanese model”, but the diffusion of the new paradigm in Brazil is also the result of adapting and modifying this model by trial and error. At the firm level, the adoption of these innovations entails a highly complex process of social change, reversing norms and models of behaviour hitherto dominant. They modify the daily practices at work, and the division of labour within and between companies, as well as between companies and other institutions, such as those within the educational system. These transformations are studied by distinguishing competition, management, and technological patterns. The results show that, under the conditions of a an extremely large domestic market, the re-structuring of the Brazilian industry occurs in a context characterized by crisis, economic instability, recession and unemployment as well as by political re-democratization and growing influence of the labour movement. The diffusion of the new paradigm of efficiency together with the increasing globalization of the economy and the ongoing abandonment of import substitution, transformed the organization of work and inter-firms relations, changing the volume, structure, and location of employment as well as the content and hierarchy of skills. Keywords: technological paradigm, flexible production, network, employment, skills, education, Brazilian industry. Leda Maria Caira Gitahy, Department of Sociology, Uppsala University, Box 821, S-751 08 Uppsala, Sweden. © Leda Gitahy 2000 ISSN 0282-7492 ISBN 91-554-4778-3 Printed in Sweden by University Printers, Ekonomikum, Uppsala 2000 “... Nations which adopt the new techniques from abroad always do so for a double and apparently self-contradictory motive: to become like their more advanced rivals, but to remain just as they are. They must at least meet the efficiency standards of their powerful competitors if they are to preserve their independence - hence the need to copy who ever has come up with the successful techniques of the day. But paradoxically, they imitate others the better to defend their individuality.” Charles Sabel “Just how to achieve self realization, to preserve freedom, and adapt society to both, seems increasingly harder to know; it is felt as a central, overwhelming problem of our days. … From finding security in a repetion of sameness, of only slight and slow variations, we are having to live with a very different kind of security; one that must rest on achieving the good life, with very little chance to predict the outcome of our actions in a fast changing world. … To manage such a feat, heart and reason can no longer be kept in separate places. … The daring heart must invade reason with its own living warmth, even if the simetry of reason must give way to admit love and the pulsation of life. No longer can we be satisfied with a life where the heart has its reasons, which reason cannot know. Our hearts must know the world of reason, and reason must be guided by an informed heart.” Bruno Bettelheim LIST OF PUBLICATIONS I. Gitahy, Leda (2000) Toward a New Paradigm of Industrial Organization? The concept of technological paradigm and its utility to study the diffusion of technological and managerial innovations in the Brazilian industry. Accepted for publication in Portuguese as Gitahy, Leda (2000) Na direção de um novo paradigma de organização industrial? O conceito de paradigma tecnológico e sua utilidade para tratar o tema da difusão de inovações tecnológicas e organizacionais na indústria brasileira, Coleção Mundo do Trabalho, Boitempo Editorial, São Paulo (in print). II. Gitahy, Leda (1994) Technological Innovation, Subcontracting, and the Labour Market. Published in Portuguese as Gitahy, Leda (1994) “Inovação Tecnológica, Subcontratação e Mercado de Trabalho” in São Paulo em Perspectiva, Vol. 8 nr 1, pp 144-153, São Paulo. (ISSN 0102-8839). III. Gitahy, Leda, Rabelo, Flávio, and Costa, Maria Conceição (1990) Technological Innovation, Industrial Relations, and Subcontracting, version in English prepared as a paper presented to the I Symposium on “New Technological and Societal Trends” (Session IV) at XII World Sociological Congress, Madrid, July. Originally published in Portuguese as Gitahy, Leda, Rabelo, Flávio, and Costa, Maria Conceição (1991) “Inovação Tecnológica, Relações Industriais e Subcontratação” in Textos para Discussão nr 10, DPCT/IG/UNICAMP, Campinas, pp 1-34. Also published in Spanish as Gitahy, Leda, Rabelo, Flávio, and Costa, Maria Conceição. (1992) "Innovación tecnológica: relaciones industriales y subcontratacción" in Boletin CINTERFOR, nr 120, julio-setiembre, pp 71-98, Cinterfor/OIT, Montevideo (ISSN 0254- 2439). IV. Gitahy, Leda and Rabelo, Flávio (1991) Education and Technological Development: the Case of the Autoparts Industry. Originally published in Portuguese as Gitahy, Leda and Rabelo, Flávio (1991) “Educação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico: o caso da indústria de autopeças” in Textos para Discussão nr 11, DPCT/IG/UNICAMP, Campinas, pp 1-30. Published in Spanish, as Gitahy, Leda and Rabelo, Flávio (1992) “Educación y Desarrollo Tecnológico: el caso de la industria de autopartes”, in Gallart, M.C.(ed.) Educación y Trabajo - Desafios y Perspectivas de Investigación y Políticas en la década de los Noventa - Red Latinoamericana de Educación y Trabajo CIID-CENEP y CINTERFOR/OIT, Montevideo, pp 107-140. Published in Portuguese as Gitahy, Leda e Rabelo, Flávio (1993) “Educação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico: o caso da indústria de autopeças”, in Educação e Sociedade, Ano XIV, agosto, pp 225-251, CEDES/Papirus, Campinas (ISSN 0101-7330). V. Gitahy, Leda, Ruas, Roberto, Rabelo, Flávio, and Antunes, Elaine (1997) Inter-firm Relations, Collective Efficiency, and Employment in two Brazilian Clusters. Originally published in Portuguese as Gitahy, Leda, Ruas, Roberto, Rabelo, Flávio, and Antunes, Elaine (1997) ”Relações interfirmas, eficiência coletiva e emprego em dois clusters da indústria brasileira”, in Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios del Trabajo, nr 6, pp 39-78, ALAST, São Paulo (ISSN 1 405-1311). An earlier version was published in English as Ruas, Roberto, Gitahy, Leda, Rabelo, Flávio, and Antunes, Elaine (1994). ”Inter-Firm Relations, Collective Efficiency, and Employment in two Brazilian Clusters”, World Employment Programme Research, WEP 2-22/WP.242, pp 1-55, ILO, Geneva, March (ISBN 92-2-109333-6). VI. Abreu, Alice, Gitahy, Leda, Ramalho, José Ricardo, and Ruas, Roberto (1999) Industrial Restructuring and Inter-firm Relations in Brazil: A Study of the Auto-Parts Industry in the 1990s in Occasional Papers nr 21, Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London, London. (ISSN 0953 6825) pp 1-40. Also accepted for publication in Portuguese as Abreu, Alice, Gitahy, Leda, Ramalho, José Ricardo, and Ruas, Roberto (2000) ”Produção flexível e relações inter-firmas: a indústria de autopeças em três regiões do Brasil”, in Abreu, Alice (editora) Produção flexível e novas institucionalidades na América Latina, Editora UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro (in print). Reprints were made with permission from the publishers Contents Acknowledgements Preface 1. Introduction 1.1 Objectives 1.2 Historical background 1.3 Basic concepts 1.4 Method 2. The studies 3. Conclusions and suggestions for further research 3.1 Main findings 3.2 Changes in the Brazilian industry, 1970-1999 3.3 Final discussion References Articles I) Toward a New Paradigm of Industrial Organization? II) Education and Technological Development: the Case of the Autoparts Industry III) Technological Innovation, Industrial Relations, and Subcontracting IV) Technological Innovation, Subcontracting, and the Labour Market V) Inter-firm relations, Collective Efficiency and Employment in two Brazilian Clusters VI) Industrial Restructuring and Inter-firm Relations in Brazil: A Study of the Auto- Parts Industry in the 1990s Acknowledgements As is the case for most PhD theses, there are many persons who, in different ways, have contributed to the fulfilment of the dissertation. Taking into consideration the period that has elapsed since
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Oppressive Pressures of Globalization and Neoliberalism on Mexican Maquiladora Garment Workers
    Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee Volume 9 Issue 1 Article 7 July 2019 The Oppressive Pressures of Globalization and Neoliberalism on Mexican Maquiladora Garment Workers Jenna Demeter The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/pursuit Part of the Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Economic History Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Growth and Development Commons, Income Distribution Commons, Industrial Organization Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, International and Comparative Labor Relations Commons, International Economics Commons, International Relations Commons, International Trade Law Commons, Labor and Employment Law Commons, Labor Economics Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Law and Economics Commons, Macroeconomics Commons, Political Economy Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Public Economics Commons, Regional Economics Commons, Rural Sociology Commons, Unions Commons, and the Work, Economy and Organizations Commons Recommended Citation Demeter, Jenna (2019) "The Oppressive Pressures of Globalization and Neoliberalism on Mexican Maquiladora Garment Workers," Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee: Vol. 9 : Iss. 1 , Article 7. Available at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/pursuit/vol9/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by
    [Show full text]
  • Econ 8747: Industrial Organization Theory Fall 2018
    Econ 8747: Industrial Organization Theory Fall 2018 Professor Yongmin Chen Office: Econ 112 Class Time/Location: 9:30-10:45 AM. TTH; ECON 5 Office Hours: 3:30-5:00pm, TTH; 10:00-11:30am, Wednesday Course Description: Industrial organization studies the behavior of firms and markets under imperfect competition. The course will cover selected topics in industrial organization theory. Recommended textbooks include: (1) The Theory of Industrial Organization by Jean Tirole, MIT Press, and (2) Industrial Organization: Contemporary Theory and Practice by Pepall, Richards, and Norman. A good source for references is the Handbook of Industrial Organization, Vol. 1, 2, and 3. HIO3 (2007, Mark Armstrong and Robert Porter edits) surveys the major developments in IO since Tirole. Grading: Grades are based on homework and class participation (30%), presentation (30%), and a term paper (40%). You are encouraged to form study groups to discuss homework and lecture materials. Requirements for the term paper will be discussed later. The course materials are arranged by topics (the topics are listed below), and each topic is usually covered in several classes. Tirole remains the classic graduate IO textbook, and you are encouraged to read the entire book and work out the exercise problems there (even though we only cover a few parts of the book in the course). You will also be asked to write short reviews/discussions (each review/discussion is 2-3 pages long, double spaced). A tentative course schedule is attached. There can be changes to this schedule during the semester, which will be announced in class. You are responsible for updating course information according to announcements made in class.
    [Show full text]
  • Product Differentiation
    Product differentiation Industrial Organization Bernard Caillaud Master APE - Paris School of Economics September 22, 2016 Bernard Caillaud Product differentiation Motivation The Bertrand paradox relies on the fact buyers choose the cheap- est firm, even for very small price differences. In practice, some buyers may continue to buy from the most expensive firms because they have an intrinsic preference for the product sold by that firm: Notion of differentiation. Indeed, assuming an homogeneous product is not realistic: rarely exist two identical goods in this sense For objective reasons: products differ in their physical char- acteristics, in their design, ... For subjective reasons: even when physical differences are hard to see for consumers, branding may well make two prod- ucts appear differently in the consumers' eyes Bernard Caillaud Product differentiation Motivation Differentiation among products is above all a property of con- sumers' preferences: Taste for diversity Heterogeneity of consumers' taste But it has major consequences in terms of imperfectly competi- tive behavior: so, the analysis of differentiation allows for a richer discussion and comparison of price competition models vs quan- tity competition models. Also related to the practical question (for competition authori- ties) of market definition: set of goods highly substitutable among themselves and poorly substitutable with goods outside this set Bernard Caillaud Product differentiation Motivation Firms have in general an incentive to affect the degree of differ- entiation of their products compared to rivals'. Hence, differen- tiation is related to other aspects of firms’ strategies. Choice of products: firms choose how to differentiate from rivals, this impacts the type of products that they choose to offer and the diversity of products that consumers face.
    [Show full text]
  • History in the Study of Industrial Organization
    History in the Study of Industrial Organization David Genesove Hebrew University of Jerusalem and C.E.P.R. May 13 2016 Preliminary Draft *I am grateful for comments by discussants Konrad Stahl, Chaim Fershtman, John Sutton and Bob Feinberg, and others in presentations at the 2012 Nordic IO Conference, the IDC, Herzlya, the MAACI Summer Institute on Competition Policy, Israel IO Day and the 2015 EARIE Conference. I. Introduction In studying Industrial Organization, economists have at times turned to the past to illustrate and test its theories. This includes some of the seminal papers of the new empiricism (e.g., Porter, 1983). This readiness to cull from the historical record has neither been examined critically, nor accompanied by much of an attempt to follow the industrial organization of markets over time. This paper asks how history can help us understand markets, by posing the following dual questions: (a) what are the advantages and disadvantages of using old markets to illuminate our understanding of current ones, and (b) is a historical approach to the study of Industrial Organization possible and worth pursuing? We are talking about history in two different ways: as the past, and as an analytical approach. History as the past means using old markets in empirical work in the same way one uses contemporary markets, whether that is inductively learning about markets in the “theory-development role of applied econometrics” (Morgan, cited by Snooks, 1993), estimating parameters of interest, or “using historical episodes to test economic models for their generality” (Kindleberger, 1990, p. 3). History as an analytic approach means describing a sequence of events as a logical progression informed by economic theory but unencumbered by it, with room for personalities and errors, and perhaps emphasis on certain events with overwhelming importance.
    [Show full text]
  • Oligopolistic Competition
    Lecture 3: Oligopolistic competition EC 105. Industrial Organization Mattt Shum HSS, California Institute of Technology EC 105. Industrial Organization (Mattt Shum HSS,Lecture California 3: Oligopolistic Institute of competition Technology) 1 / 38 Oligopoly Models Oligopoly: interaction among small number of firms Conflict of interest: Each firm maximizes its own profits, but... Firm j's actions affect firm i's profits PC: firms are small, so no single firm’s actions affect other firms’ profits Monopoly: only one firm EC 105. Industrial Organization (Mattt Shum HSS,Lecture California 3: Oligopolistic Institute of competition Technology) 2 / 38 Oligopoly Models Oligopoly: interaction among small number of firms Conflict of interest: Each firm maximizes its own profits, but... Firm j's actions affect firm i's profits PC: firms are small, so no single firm’s actions affect other firms’ profits Monopoly: only one firm EC 105. Industrial Organization (Mattt Shum HSS,Lecture California 3: Oligopolistic Institute of competition Technology) 2 / 38 Oligopoly Models Oligopoly: interaction among small number of firms Conflict of interest: Each firm maximizes its own profits, but... Firm j's actions affect firm i's profits PC: firms are small, so no single firm’s actions affect other firms’ profits Monopoly: only one firm EC 105. Industrial Organization (Mattt Shum HSS,Lecture California 3: Oligopolistic Institute of competition Technology) 2 / 38 Oligopoly Models Oligopoly: interaction among small number of firms Conflict of interest: Each firm maximizes its own profits, but... Firm j's actions affect firm i's profits PC: firms are small, so no single firm’s actions affect other firms’ profits Monopoly: only one firm EC 105.
    [Show full text]
  • Industrial Organization - Outline
    Industrial Organization - Outline Marc M¨oller Department of Economics, Universit¨at Bern General Information Industrial Organisation is the study of strategic competition. The first part of the course considers monopoly pricing as a benchmark. The standard model of monopoly that was introduced in Microeconomics is extended to allow for multiple products and discriminatory pricing. The second and main part of the course considers oligopolistic markets for homogeneous products. We distinguish between price competition and quantity competition and discuss two major concerns of antitrust authorities; entry deterrence and collusion. The final part of the course considers more advanced topics such as differentiated product markets, vertical industry relations and advertising. The course covers the basic theoretical concepts and presents empirical evidence. The course is self–contained and requires knowledge of basic game theoretic con- cepts. Language is English. Books and Overviews • Cabral, L., Introduction to Industrial Organization, 2000, MIT Press. • Belleflamme, P. and M. Peitz, Industrial Organization: Markets and Strategies, 2010, Cambridge University Press. • Tirole, J., The Theory of Industrial Organization, 1989, MIT Press. Problem Sets Each topic contains a set of problems. These problems should be solved by students (preferably in groups) at home. They will be discussed in the practical sessions. 1 Evaluation The (written) exam at the end of the course contributes 100% to the final grade. The exam contains two sections: A multiple choice section with short questions about the basic concepts and results of the course and a section with long questions similar to the ones contained in the problem sets. Outline 0. Introduction What explains the large differences in car markups across European countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Economics 523: Industrial Organization II Fall 2012
    Economics 523: Industrial Organization II Fall 2012 Instructor: Tomas Sjöström, New Jersey Hall 301C, 932-7363, email: [email protected]. Time and Location: Tu, Th 4:30-5:50, Frelinghuysen Hall B1. O¢ ce Hours: Tu, Th 3:15 - 4:30, NJ Hall 301C Textbook: “Contract Theory”by P. Bolton and M. Dewatripont. Learning Goals and Assessment: The objective of this course is to familiarize the students with classic topics in Industrial Organization theory, and the most important contributions to these topics. At the end of the course, the students should have a su¢ cient understanding of this …eld to be able to produce their own independent research. There are no exams and no homework. Each student must write a term paper, present it in class, and to discuss (“referee”) another students’sterm paper. Course Outline PART A: Contracts A1. Mechanism Design B&D Ch 7 d’Aspremont, C. and L.A. Gérard-Varet (1979), “Incentives and Incomplete Information,” Journal of Public Economics, 11, 25–45 Maskin, E. and J. Riley (1984), “Optimal Auctions with Risk Averse Buyers” Econometrica, 52, 1473- 1518 Myerson, R. (1981), “Optimal Auction Design,”Mathematics of Operation Research, 6, 58-73. Myerson, R. (1988), “Mechanism Design,”in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/research/math/papers/796.pdf Myerson, R. and M. Satterthwaite (1983), “E¢ cient Mechanisms for Bilateral Trading,”Journal of Eco- nomic Theory, 29, 265–281. A2. Moral Hazard B&D Ch. 4 Ghatak, M., M. Morelli and T. Sjöström (2001), “Occupational Choice and Dynamic Incentives,”Review of Economic Studies, 68, 781-810.
    [Show full text]
  • Nine Lives of Neoliberalism
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Plehwe, Dieter (Ed.); Slobodian, Quinn (Ed.); Mirowski, Philip (Ed.) Book — Published Version Nine Lives of Neoliberalism Provided in Cooperation with: WZB Berlin Social Science Center Suggested Citation: Plehwe, Dieter (Ed.); Slobodian, Quinn (Ed.); Mirowski, Philip (Ed.) (2020) : Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, ISBN 978-1-78873-255-0, Verso, London, New York, NY, https://www.versobooks.com/books/3075-nine-lives-of-neoliberalism This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/215796 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative
    [Show full text]
  • Econ 712: Empirical Industrial Organization
    Fall 2018 Aviv Nevo 617 PCPSE [email protected] Econ 712: Empirical Industrial Organization The course provides a graduate-level introduction to the topics and methods of Empirical Industrial Organization (IO). It is designed to provide a broad introduction to topics and industries that current researchers are studying as well as to expose students to a wide variety of techniques. It will start the process of preparing economics Ph.D. students to conduct thesis research in the area, and may also be of interest to doctoral students in other fields. Lectures: Tuesday/Thursday 1:30-3:00, 101 PCPSE Office Hours: By appointment TA: Joao Granja de Almeida ([email protected]) Textbooks: There is no textbook for this course. For coverage of theoretical principles (that I will rely on, but not cover in any detail) see: J. Tirole, The Theory of Industrial Organization, MIT, 1988. (Tirole). For a broader coverage of empirical and public policy issues, you should also read: D. Carlton and J. Perloff, Modern Industrial Organization, 4th ed., Pearson, 2005. K. Viscusi, J. Vernon and J. Harrington, Economics of Regulation and Antitrust, 4th ed., MIT, 2005. You also might want to read several of the surveys in: R. Schmalensee and R. Willig, eds., Handbook of Industrial Organization, Volumes 1 and 2 North-Holland, 1989. (HIO). M. Armstrong and R. Poter, eds., Handbook of Industrial Organization, Volume 3, North- Holland, 2007. The two chapters from the Handbook of Econometrics, in the first section below, are probably the closest thing to a textbook for the material I will cover.
    [Show full text]
  • Agricultural Economics Collection Development Policy
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Collection Development Policies -- UNL Libraries Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln 12-2009 Agricultural Economics Collection Development Policy Rebecca Bernthal University of Nebraska at Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/librarycolldev Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Bernthal, Rebecca, "Agricultural Economics Collection Development Policy" (2009). Collection Development Policies -- UNL Libraries. 3. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/librarycolldev/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Collection Development Policies -- UNL Libraries by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Agricultural Economics CD Policy 2009 Agricultural Economics Collection Development Policy University Libraries, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Rebecca Bernthal, Liaison Librarian, December, 2009 Approved: CDC, January 6, 2010 I. GENERAL ACADEMIC PROGRAM INFORMATION The Agricultural Economics Department is part of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CASNR). The faculty has appointments in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR), the Agricultural Research Division (ARD), and/or the Cooperative Extension Division (CED). The Department was established in 1909 as the Department of Agronomy and Farm Management. In 1911 it was renamed as the Department of Farm Management and then in 1919 became the Department of Rural Economics. Since 1949 the Department has been known as the Department of Agricultural Economics. By 1920 the Department offered 13 courses for undergraduates and graduate students.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2 the Knowledge Economy
    Chapter 2 The knowledge economy These days, keeping your nose to the grindstone is a big, short-sighted mistake (Stewart, 1997, p xvii). Though invisible and difficult to measure, knowledge and human expertise are starting to be seen for what they are: the source of value creation (Lank, 1997, p 406). 2.1 Introduction What has become valuable in the work environment of the present belongs to what is known as the knowledge economy, the knowledge era, the knowledge age, the information age, the new economy and the new world. For the purpose of this study, the phrase knowledge economy will be used to include all of these terms. The general interest in the knowledge economy and its associated management philosophies, knowledge management, learning organizations and intellectual capital management, did not start as a whim. It came about as a direct result of the general evolution in the way in which work is valued. The shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy (and their associated work value systems) is at present relatively easy to recognize and understand. What is not yet as clear to most, is the impact of the shift from the industrial to the knowledge focused economy. There is, however, little doubt that the implication will be more intense and have a larger impact than that of any previous evolutionary step. The knowledge economy, which is described in some detail in section 2.2, is typified by an oversupply of information. It is ironic that the concern with information overload is also contributing to the fact that individuals are swamped by information and that managers are unable to assimilate and use information that they require to run their businesses efficiently (Davenport and Prusak, 1997, p 134; Quintas, Lefrere and Jones, 1997, p 386).
    [Show full text]
  • Making Industrial Policy Work for Growth, Jobs and Development
    Salazar- Xirinachs Nübler Kozul- José M. Salazar-Xirinachs Wright Irmgard Nübler Richard Kozul-Wright No country has made the arduous journey from widespread rural poverty to post-industrial wealth without employing targeted and selective government policies to modify its economic structure and boost its economic dynamism. TRANSFORMING Building on a description and assessment of the contributions of different economic traditions (neoclassical, structural, institutional and evolutionary economics) to the analysis of policies in support of structural transformation and the generation of productive jobs, this book argues that industrial policy ECONOMIES goes beyond targeting preferred economic activities, sectors and technolo- gies. It also includes the challenge of accelerating learning and the creation of productive capabilities. This perspective encourages a broad and integrated Making industrial policy work approach to industrial policy. Only a coherent set of investment, trade, tech- nology, education and training policies supported by macroeconomic, financial for growth, jobs and development and labour market policies can adequately respond to the myriad challenges of learning and structural transformation faced by countries aiming at achieving development objectives. The book contains analyses of national and sectoral experiences in Costa Rica, the Republic of Korea, India, Brazil, China, South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. Practical lessons and fundamental principles for in- dustrial policy design and implementation
    [Show full text]