Economic Development Impacts of Wind Power--Case Studies Fact Sheet

Africa’s economic development will result from conscious efforts directed towards diversification and increased productivity in its low-performing agricultural sector. Technology development, transfer and uptake, which are low for now, are indispensible necessities in this respect. The purpose of this chapter is to review the characteristics, importance, constraints and technology adoption process of African agriculture to identify factors that enhance or hinder technology uptake. This is with a view to isolating lessons for developers or packagers of new agricultural or other technologies for Africa, especially nanotechnology and microelectronics which are evolving and transformational. The attributes of technologies that have made desired impact in African agriculture included cheapness, simplicity, observability, visibility of results, usefulness, compatibility with existing technologies and farm- or farmer-specific socio-economic or socio-cultural conditions. Case studies of the welfare-enhancing impacts of adopted agricultural technologies were examined under use of fertilizers, improved varieties and biotechnology. Useful lessons for development and transfer of nanotechnology and micro-electronics to Africa were highlighted.

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Technology Adoption and Economic Development

Nanotechnology and Microelectronics ◽

10.4018/978-1-61692-006-7.ch018 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 298-313

Author(s):

Taiwo E. Mafimisebi

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Technology Adoption ◽

Case Studies ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Technology Development ◽

Adoption Process ◽

Agricultural Technologies ◽

Improved Varieties ◽

Cultural Conditions ◽

African Agriculture

Africa’s economic development will result from conscious efforts directed towards diversification and increased productivity in its low-performing agricultural sector. Technology development, transfer and uptake, which are low for now, are indispensible necessities in this respect. The purpose of this chapter is to review the characteristics, importance, constraints and technology adoption process of African agriculture to identify factors that enhance or hinder technology uptake. This is with a view to isolating lessons for developers or packagers of new agricultural or other technologies for Africa, especially nanotechnology and microelectronics which are evolving and transformational. The attributes of technologies that have made desired impact in African agriculture included cheapness, simplicity, observability, visibility of results, usefulness, compatibility with existing technologies and farm- or farmer-specific socio-economic or socio-cultural conditions. Case studies of the welfare-enhancing impacts of adopted agricultural technologies were examined under use of fertilizers, improved varieties and biotechnology. Useful lessons for development and transfer of nanotechnology and micro-electronics to Africa were highlighted.

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Modeling of the Economic Development of a Region

Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies - Environmental Modeling for Sustainable Regional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-156-0.ch013 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 260-280

Author(s):

Renáta Myšková ◽

Ivana Linkeová

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Fuzzy Sets ◽

Case Studies ◽

Regional Economic Development ◽

Economic Risk ◽

Microsoft Excel ◽

Regional Economic ◽

Number Of Factors ◽

Strategic Factors ◽

Official Data

The economic development of a region depends on a number of factors which influence it mainly bases in a macro-economic aspect. Each region has its specific characteristics, thus area-surveyed indicators may not have sufficient predicative potential. In this chapter the authors design two new indicators (Index of Citizens’ Financial Provision and Risk of Regional Economic Development) which enable them to evaluate the financial provision of citizens and the economic risk of a region in more detail. Consequently the authors can, through the course of designing these indicators, determine the rate of their influence on a region or at least predict their development. In order to create and model these indicators the authors used tools from the Microsoft Excel program. The methodology described can be widely utilized, as partial indicators can be substituted and, therefore, it is possible to evaluate other strategic factors of the region under consideration. Indicator Risk of Regional Economic Development was designed with the help of fuzzy sets. The chapter includes two case studies, which are based on official data provided by the Czech Statistical Office. The purpose was to illustrate the construction of indicators, their predicative value and modeling potential.

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