Abstract
In this chapter we examine the functions and significance of R&D activity. We shall explore the relationships in Arab R&D activity to
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identify priorities,
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compare Arab R&D output with that of other developing and industrial countries, and
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search for the turning point in the volume of R&D output in relation to economic takeoff in developing countries.
Judging by the performance of most countries during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, all that is needed for a start in science “is common sense.” The initiation of development in a nation does not need advanced scientific capabilities. This is why the Japanese in 1860 could decide what to do, despite the fact that, at the time, they were not knowledgeable in any modern science.
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Notes
See A. B. Zahlan, Acquiring Technological Capacity: A Study of Arab Consulting and Contracting Firms (Macmillan, 1991).
Nicholas Nassif, The Republic of Fuad Chehab (Dar al-Nahar: Institute of Fuad Chehab, 2008).
It is noteworthy that during the 1970s the Arab countries had a booming program in solar energy. See M. Ali Kettani and M. A. S. Malik, Solar Energy in the Arab World: Policies and Programs (Kuwait: OAPEC, 1979). This Report has 199 pages of information on these activities. But this effort seems to have evaporated leaving little trace. The current efforts have no relation to hundreds of earlier projects. The earlier programs were propelled heavily by local expertise.
Jeffrey Mervis, “An Insider/Outside View of US Science,” Science, 325 (July 10, 2009), 132. The survey inquired into a wide variety of American perceptions concerning US science.
C. N. R. Rao. “Science in the Future of India,” Science, 325 (July 10, 2009), 126.
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© 2012 A. B. Zahlan
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Zahlan, A.B. (2012). R&D and Its Functions. In: Science, Development, and Sovereignty in the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137020987_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137020987_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
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