Building technological capability in the context of globalization: opportunities and challenges facing developing countries

It is an honour to edit this special issue on 'Globalization and Technology Development', the publication of which is an outcome of the 2003 DSA (Development Studies Association) Annual Conference held in Glasgow at the University of Strathclyde, itself a source of pioneering studies on technology and development. This recent conference coincided with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first assembly of the DSA, held at Strathclyde, for which the David Livingstone Institute of Overseas Development Studies, then actively investigating technology choice in developing countries, took a leading role. In introducing this special issue, an attempt will be made to highlight the case for explicit, coherent and effective technology policy as the way forward in rapidly globalizing economies, especially those in the developing world. In this regard, this introductory paper will invoke some recently published evidence from three countries of the Indian subcontinent, namely Bangladesh, India and Nepal, all of which are low-income developing countries.