Engineering consultancy, industrialization and development

Abstract

Engineering consultancy by specialists in designing and building operational units has become an established and growing feature of the economic scene in industrialized countries. We examine here the place of engineering consultancy in the industrialization of developing countries and more especially the value, to those developing countries which have an industrial base, of mastering some or all of the skills associated with consultancy work; the theoretical benefits as well as some actual cases are discussed. The conclusion is drawn that there are at least some conditions where the high initial cost of establishing this ‘infant industry’ is worth paying.

Notes

Economic Assistant in the Overseas Development Administration. This paper arises from the work of a team at the Institut de Recherche Economique et de Planification, Grenoble, directed by M. Pierre Judet, with which the author has been associated; the views expressed are entirely his own.