Development and inappropriate or appropriate technology∗

Based on a paper by T J C Slabbert, Institute for Planning Research, University of Port Elizabeth, June 1983, The need for development and application of appropriate technology in South Africa. Revised by A M Thompson, Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Abstract

It will not be possible to meet the basic needs of the poor in developing countries within the existing technostructure. The technology produced in the high—‐income countries is generally inappropriate for developing countries, being developed to suit conditions in the former. An appropriate technology more productive than a traditional one, but less disruptive than an inappropriate one, is therefore required. Such a technology is better suited to the factor endowments, levels of income, and the social and cultural conditions of developing countries. If real development is to occur in South Africa, priority must be given to the search for and use of smaller scale, more labour intensive methods of production that must be made accessible to all groups.

Notes

Based on a paper by T J C Slabbert, Institute for Planning Research, University of Port Elizabeth, June 1983, The need for development and application of appropriate technology in South Africa. Revised by A M Thompson, Development Bank of Southern Africa.