3. TECHNOLOGY-GENERATION FACTORS AND ENDOWMENTS

One way to emphasize technologies of relevance is to identify technologies that allow exploitation of national resources (factor endowments) and in which the local or domestic firms are already competing globally. The advantage in adopting this approach is that such firms/industry already have familiarity with changing world-markets and the technical know-how needed to convert developmental ideas into products and services. Notwithstanding with this, the nation should also assign a role to itself, to develop leadership in technologies that create new markets. If the earlier option has the advantage that a nation has a historical base upon which certain advances in research can contribute, while the latter may give an impetus to its economic upsurge in certain new areas of research. Semiconductors, advanced materials, information-technology, which did not exist a couple of decades ago, have now assumed a significant economic importance, and these industries are expanding and already provide a large number of skilled jobs in many countries. The relative importance of these technologies differs among countries, based on their respective resource-endowments.