Policy and Complex Systems
countries , and — like Schumpeter in the case of entrepreneurs — stressed the quality of human resources . Singer ’ s case for improving “ public administration ” could have been made for “ business administration ” as well . By then , technical assistance programs were being developed through new international development agencies . 62 This was not the case everywhere , however . For example , the development of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan benefited from U . S . technical assistance programs that involved combinations of private and public sector players . 63
Working from the theories of factor endowment and product cycle , Singer rejected Schumpeter ’ s idea of endogenous innovation and argued for a “ technology transfer ” model consistent with the concept of “ derived development ” as put forward by Wallich . He did not think that modern technologies developed for industrializedcountry consumers were appropriate for less-developed countries . His view clearly misrepresented Schumpeter by focusing on new technologies rather than on new economic structures .
In addition , Singer ’ s prognosis was particularly gloomy . He argued that “ a different technology , and in many ways an older or ‘ inferior ’ one , would be more appropriate …. In many respects the technology of a hundred years ago would be desirable for them , and would make their economic development easier .” 64 To compound this pessimistic view , he said “ that technology no longer exists . It has been scrapped , and rightly scrapped , in the industrialized countries — and the technology of the industrialized countries is the only existing technology .” 65 He added that “[ u ] p to a point , it may have been an advantage to be a latecomer in economic development , but by now it has clearly turned into a serious disadvantage .” 66
Wallich and Singer put excessive faith in the goodwill of governments . They assumed that government officials would naturally respond to democratic pressure to increase the living conditions of the people . 67 But in many cases the state has been abused for personal gain . Many of the East Asian countries that have strived to improve the economic conditions of the people cannot attribute their motivations solely to democratic pressure .
Singer was a prominent development thinker and the extent to which his views influenced development practice is a subject for further enquiry . What is evident is that his thinking was congruent with the conduct of international development agencies and remains so currently , despite the rise of ideas such as “ private – public partnerships .” He and other critics of the relevance of Schumpeter not only failed to appreciate the importance of entrepreneurship in development , but they took a view of the role of government that in the end could not achieve the same transformational changes they wanted .
Singer would later return to the issue of science and technology but through his view that technology played a role in the prevalence of the “ dual economy ” and efforts were needed to facilitate its trans-
62
Staples , The Birth of Development .
63
C-Y . Hung , et al . “ Global Industrial Migration : The Case of the Integrated Circuit Industry ,” International Journal of Technology and Globalisation 2 ( 3 – 4 ) ( 2006 ): 362 – 376 .
64
Ibid ., 25 .
65
Ibid ., 25 .
66
Ibid ., 26 .
67
Ibid ., 30 .
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