Education for Technology Readiness: Prospects for Developing Countries

The technology gap between developing and advanced countries has been increasing during the last few decades. In the process of technology development human capital plays a critical role as an absorption capacity for new technologies in developing countries. The cross-country regression shows that human capital interacts with inflows of foreign technology embodied in machinery imports as well as FDI, and thereby contributes to technology growth in developing countries. We also find that the stock of human capital, at the secondary and tertiary levels of education in particular, plays a key role in determining the development of information and communication technology.This paper discusses the measures in building appropriate human capacities for the adaptation of new technologies in developing countries by focusing on the education strategies of East Asian economies.