Appropriate technology, clusters and poverty reduction

Pietrobelli, Carlo, Rabellotti , Roberta and Gorgoni, Sara (2009) Appropriate technology, clusters and poverty reduction. In: Overcoming Persistent Inequality and Poverty: A Conference in Honour of Frances Stewart, September 17-18, 2009, Oxford Department of International Development Queen Elizabeth House University of Oxford. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Since the beginning of the 1990s, clusters have attracted the interest of development economists and international organizations, being dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises specialised in highly labour intensive sectors which are so abundant in developing countries. The successful experience of some of these agglomerations of firms both in developed and developing countries shows that the potential existence of external economies and joint actions can indeed facilitate a process of sustainable growth. The aim of this paper is to create a bridge between Frances’ Stewart concern about appropriate technology and the literature on clusters in developing countries. In this paper we review the academic debate on technology and technological change in developing countries which Frances’ significantly contributed to originate, focusing our attention on the link between technological issues, clusters and their role in poverty reduction, in an attempt of reconciling apparently distant branches of the literature, developed in different decades.

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