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The Maghreb countries had a promising start in economic growth
after independence. For the most part they thrived on
industrialisation by import substitution; but unfortunately this
strategy left them with macroeconomic and structural imbalances
which together have effectively constrained their ability to
compete in the world economic system and to catch up with the
rapidly changing global techno-economic circumstances. Issues
relating to aspects of technology transfer to the Maghreb,
strategies for technological and resource development and the
integration of education and R&D systems with the productive
systems of the economies in the region are discussed along with
relevant cases from Mexico, China, South Korea, India and
Bangladesh.
The wave of protests and populist uprisings in the Middle East has
heightened the focus on a volatile region. But the emphasis on
political issues has obscured underlying issues concerning
education, infrastructure, research, innovation, entrepreneurship
and sustainable economic and social development. This volume,
emerging in the aftermath of a conference and workshop on science
and technology in the region, presents contributions from a range
of experts from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States to
provide fresh new insights and perspectives on the challenges and
prospects for regional development in the changing global context
of our time. The authors explore such topics as: the role of
information and communication technologies; mindset change in
support of investment in intangible assets and risk-taking; how to
approach cultural issues, institutions and governance;
collaborations with other regions, and; benchmarking performance
while drawing lessons of relevance for the special local context.
Ultimately, they offer a number of precise policy recommendations
and practical insights for creating an enabling environment for
capturing economic, political, and social opportunity.
The wave of protests and populist uprisings in the Middle East has
heightened the focus on a volatile region. But the emphasis on
political issues has obscured underlying issues concerning
education, infrastructure, research, innovation, entrepreneurship
and sustainable economic and social development. This volume,
emerging in the aftermath of a conference and workshop on science
and technology in the region, presents contributions from a range
of experts from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States to
provide fresh new insights and perspectives on the challenges and
prospects for regional development in the changing global context
of our time. The authors explore such topics as: the role of
information and communication technologies; mindset change in
support of investment in intangible assets and risk-taking; how to
approach cultural issues, institutions and governance;
collaborations with other regions, and; benchmarking performance
while drawing lessons of relevance for the special local context.
Ultimately, they offer a number of precise policy recommendations
and practical insights for creating an enabling environment for
capturing economic, political, and social opportunity.
The book discusses the policies and strategies for Science and
Technology (S&T) and Innovation capability building put up by
the Maghreb states (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco) in the last three
decades. The application of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs)
in recent years, the opening up of their economies and
liberalisation of trade have confronted their firms with largely
innovation-based competition and attempts to reduce the impact of
this are far from effective, particularly under the era of
knowledge economy and sustainability requirements. The work is
articulated around three major themes: the difficult path to
S&T capacity building, the attempts to put up National
Innovation Systems (NIS) and the prospects of a more
innovation-driven growth at the territorial level, notably through
intermediate institutions and science and technology poles. While
pointing out the difficulties of building NIS, the book examines
how the context of an innovation-driven competition put local
firms, especially SMEs, in a difficult position. It notes that the
universities, which are prone to internal politics and
rent-seeking, are not producing the necessary human capital. The
knowledge economy era challenges raise some hopes for better access
to innovation and knowledge assets in the world while at the
territorial level new innovation dynamics are taking place. Based
on extensive research and consultancy work done on the analysis of
policies in the Maghreb, the book also raises the issue of the
neighborhood of the European Union and argues that unless Europe
integrates the Maghreb into a real neighborhood Innovation System,
the prospects for innovation take-off in the region are limited.
______________________ Abdelkader Djeflat holds a PhD in Management
from the University of Bath, (UK) and a B.Sc in Economics from the
University of Algiers. Has was a Professor at the Department of
Economics, University of Oran; Algeria, and later Dean of the
Faculty, at the same university. He was also a Senior Researcher at
the Centre for Applied Economics, in Algeria. He is currently
Professor at the University of Lille in France. He is also the
Founder and has been the Chairman of the MAGHTECH (Maghreb
Technology) Network since 1994. He has published several books and
articles on the issues of Science and Technology, Innovation and
the Knowledge Economy especially in the context of Africa and the
Arab world. He has equally done extensive consulting work for
several international organisations and governments.
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