Abstract
The relationship between technological and social innovation can be interpreted as the relationship between the productive forces and production relations. Their impact on human resources has always been a key problem for the economic sciences. Ferguson (1772–1826) who taught Adam Smith, predicted the start of the great thrust of innovation created by the first industrial revolution, which led to the decline in the values of skills and the degradation of human resources. He stated that ignorance is both the ‘mother of industry and of superstition’ (Marx, 1962).
Many of the ideas and facts contained in this paper are the result of years of co-operation and discussion with my colleagues at the Central Institute for Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic. I would like to thank especially Dr Jurgen Wähse, Dr Reinhard Schäfer and Dr Eva-Maria Langen, who have worked with me for long on the economic problems of human resources. I would also like to thank Miss Carola Schmidt for collecting and preparing the statistical data for this paper. In addition I must thank my colleagues in the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria, where they have created a free and stimulating environment for such work.
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© 1983 International Economic Association
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Maier, H. (1983). Innovation and the Better Use of Human Resources. In: Streeten, P., Maier, H. (eds) Human Resources, Employment and Development Volume 2: Concepts, Measurement and Long-Run Perspective. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17203-0_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17203-0_12
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