Science, technology, technological progress and social welfare

Science, technology, technological progress and social welfare. Science, technology, and innovation are significant challenges to technical progress and economic and social development. Indeed, technical progress is the primary source of economic growth and social inclusion, as it improves existing technologies and develops new ones.

.The above image is for illustration –  © Melpomenem

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Science, technology, technological progress and social welfare

 

 

By R. Y. Bouacida, Economics Expert

In the last century, science and technology propelled industrialised countries towards the post-industrial (Quaternary) stage, where material elements were replaced by immaterial elements (information, knowledge, etc.) in the organisation of society. Indeed, the industrialised countries experienced a development encouraged by knowledge development, characterised by the construction of close links and “triple helix” interaction between industry, public authorities and academia. It has been the key element in the development of the knowledge economy. Science, technology, and innovation are significant challenges to technical progress and economic and social development. Indeed, technical progress is the primary source of economic growth and social inclusion, as it improves existing technologies and develops new ones.
Thus, technological progress increases economic output and the social well-being of populations by improving productivity, i.e., by allowing more to be produced with the same resources and promoting innovation and development (UNCTAD, 2017). As such, the Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2023 (SDGs) agenda can only achieve results when all countries, especially developing countries, can make greater use of scientific and technological knowledge and innovation in their social and economic processes. We need human skills and capacities to produce and absorb new knowledge. Abilities consist of persons qualified for tacit knowledge, embodied knowledge, especially in productive goods, and unembodied expertise, most often of a formal nature.
These skills can be developed in-house or acquired from outside. The two modalities coexist in varying proportions in all economies and companies. Unlike advanced countries, in developing countries that lag behind in science and technology, the external component—the absorption of external knowledge—is dominant because the level of human skills and R&D efforts is average, which limits the increase in the stock of knowledge.
Indeed, scientific and technological skills are essential for innovation activities and technical progress. Therefore, the construction of skills and capacities is one of the significant and decisive elements for both company and macroeconomic performance. This trend is linked to the development of the knowledge economy, where institutions and organisations promote education and skills training, research funding, and innovation, as well as regulation and intellectual property regimes, as strategic elements for fostering innovation and creating wealth.
It has impacted the areas of intervention of public authorities within countries, as well as the need for science, technology, and innovation policies to foster a knowledge-based economy. At the microeconomic level, these upheavals have concerned companies and their operating methods, with the emergence of technologically innovative companies driving economic competitiveness. Thus, economic growth is linked to the improvement of the workforce’s skills, the production and dissemination of knowledge within companies and the economy as a whole, the replication of efficient practices, and ultimately, the quality of products and production processes.
Their implementation requires significant capital for investment, training and research. They are the result of a genuine investment process, just as the one that allows for the development of natural resources. Only the object is different; in one case, it is the development of natural resources, and in the other, it is the development of human capacities. Ultimately, economic development is closely tied to a society’s culture of development and its collective values. Indeed, it now seems that, in developing countries, development is increasingly being viewed more formally as dependent not only on economic or political parameters, but also on the collective values and culture of development of the population and society as a whole.
The experience of the four Asian dragons—South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan—which were able to emerge sustainably from underdevelopment, showed that despite being deprived of specific space and natural resources, they were able to achieve this result solely with the capacity of their populations to work. These individuals were driven and motivated by a sense of national interest. The cultural traits of these societies were optimism about the future and enthusiasm for development. As the economist Casson (1993) points out, collective values also influence a society’s economic performance by creating moral cohesion.
It, therefore, presupposes work, seriousness in work, respect for the dignity of the human person, which allows for greater harmony in society, and respect for the laws and rules in force and action for the general interest. Thus, these are key elements for a country to position itself in the trajectory that leads to economic and social development. The example of countries in South-East Asia in the past, or China in recent times, rightly illustrates this phenomenon. These countries have been able to adapt the variables of skills and capacity training, innovation and progress to their context and have succeeded in ensuring a sound development policy.
Favoured by the culture of development and the collective values of their populations and societies, these countries have been able to retrace the path that separated them from technological frontiers over a few decades and position themselves sustainably, much like developed countries. These examples thus make it possible to identify universally valid rules for moving from underdevelopment to economic and sustainable development.

 

Read more on the original article of El Watan DZ

 

Compared to other countries at the same level, Algeria is quite favoured in terms of the conditions for economic take-off. “The largest country in Africa and the third largest Arab economy, Algeria returned to the category of upper-middle-income countries according to the World Bank’s classification in July 2024.
Over the past two decades, Algeria has made progress in economic and human development, investing in infrastructure projects and introducing redistributive social policies that have reduced poverty and significantly improved human development indicators.” (World Bank, 2024). With abundant natural resources, a young population, a formidable reservoir of scientific and technological skills and cheapness, the promotion of entrepreneurial universities and innovation, and proximity to the European and African markets, Algeria has enormous potential to become, very shortly, a major emerging country to join the ranks of developed countries quickly.