Technological Change and Economic Growth

Abstract

In a globalizing world economy, the reason for differences in economic growth and inter-country income inequality is explained on the grounds of technological differences. The goal of science and technology is to enable enterprises and individuals to use technologies more efficiently, as this results in reduced costs and enhanced productivity gains. The use of new technologies paves the way for production of new cheaper goods and for capital accumulation and, for that matter, for an enhanced international competitiveness of individual countries, as well as to an enhanced quality for scientific research institutions, while, on the other hand, contributing to cultural and political development of societies. The quality of growth rates is as much important as their size. One may ask the following questions in order to get a better understanding of whether growth has its reflections on people's life or not: Are people involved and included in growth process? Does everybody enjoy the opportunities driven by growth? Do new technologies or trade volumes increase the choices facing people? Is welfare level of the future generations planned? Or, else, who is cared about is today's generations only? Are markets accessible and open to everybody? (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).