New technologies will have an increasing effect on prospects for development and growth in the world economy. Technology and Innovation in the International Economy contains extensive and detailed assessments of two key areas of technological innovation which present both a threat and an opportunity for developing countries: microelectronics and biotechnology.The two major review essays - Jeffrey James on microelectronic technology and Martin Fransman on biotechnology - assess the impact of these new technologies on production, trade, employment and welfare in developing countries. The introduction by Charles Cooper deals with recent advances in the economics of innovation and diffusion of new technologies, and attempts to build a bridge between the study of technology in the industrial sectors of developed countries and the type of technology policy needed in the developing countries.

Policymakers, researchers and students will welcome the clarity and breadth of this important volume which contains much original analysis and detailed information on a major issue confronting developing and developed nations alike.