In pursuit of science and technology in Sub-Saharan Africa This volume examines the progress of Sub-Saharan African countries in advancing science and technology in the context of the Structural Adjust- ment Programmes they have undertaken. John Enos looks at the pursuit of science and technology both before and after structural adjustment programmes have been attempted in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. He looks at the efficiency with which the research and development has been carried out, the transfer- ability of scientific and technical resources from one activity to another and the directions in which advances are channelled. The institutions that receive resources are identified as well as the rates at which those resources are allocated. Finally, John Enos looks at who makes the deci- sions governing the resources devoted to furthering science and tech- nology and with what objectives. The findings in this important study will be of interest to students and academics in economic development and to professional economists and administrators directing economic development agencies, as well as to offi- cials in economic planning and finance ministries in developing countries. J.L.Enos is a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. UNU/INTECH Studies in New Technology and Development Series editors: Charles Cooper and Swasti Mitter The books in this series reflect the research initiatives at the United Nations University Institute for New Technologies (UNU/INTECH) based in Maastricht, the Netherlands. This institute is primarily a research centre within the UN system, and evaluates the social, political and economic en- vironment in which new technologies are adopted and adapted in the devel- oping world. The books in the series explore the role that technology poli- cies can play in bridging the economic gap between nations, as well as be- tween groups within nations. The authors and contributors are leading scholars in the field of technology and development; their work focuses on: (cid:127) the social and economic implications of new technologies; (cid:127) processes of diffusion of such technologies to the developing world; (cid:127) thei mpacto fs ucht echnologieso ni ncome,e mploymenta nde nvironment; (cid:127) the political dynamics of technology transfer. The series is a pioneering attempt at placing technology policies at the heart of national and international strategies for development. This is likely to prove crucial in the globalized market, for the competitiveness and sustainable growth of poorer nations. 1 Women Encounter Technology Perspectives of the Third World Edited by Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham 2 In Pursuit of Science and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa The impact of Structural Adjustment Programmes J.L.Enos 3 Politics of Technology in Latin America Edited bu Maria Inês Bastos and Charles M.Cooper 4 Exporting Africa Technology, Trade and Industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa Edited by Samuel M.Wangwe In pursuit of science and technology in Sub-Saharan Africa The impact of structural adjustment programmes J.L.Enos London and New York Published in association with the UNU Press First published 1995 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1995 UNU/INTECH All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Enos, John L. (John Lawrence), 1924– In pursuit of science and technology in sub-Saharan Africa: the impact of structural adjustment programmes/J.L.Enos.h p. cm.—(UNU/INTECH studies in new technologies and development) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Structural adjustment (Economic policy)—Africa, Sub-Saharan—Case studies. 2. Technology and state—Africa, Sub-Saharan—Case studies. 3. Science and state—Africa, Sub-Saharan—Case studies. I. Title. II. Series. HC800.E56 1995 338.967–dc20 95–58 CIP ISBN 0-203-20897-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-26724-9 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-12689-4 ISSN 1359–7922 Contents List of figures viii List of tables ix Preface xiv Part I: Introduction 1 Scope and method 3 Introduction 3 Objectives of the study 4 Sampling procedure 7 Approach to the study 7 Outline of the book 10 2 Choice and application of economic theory 12 Introduction 12 Consequences, in theory, of advancing science and technology 14 The timing, in theory, of advancing science and technology 15 Theories of structural adjustment 22 Guidance for the study 33 Part II The Pursuit of Science and Technology 3 Ghana 37 Introduction 37 Recent economic history 39 The prospects for industry 44 The structural adjustment programme 51 R&D institutions 52 Science and technology at the Ghanaian universities 64 Ghana’s total expenditures on the pursuit of science and technology 71 v vi Contents 4 Kenya 76 Introduction 76 Recent economic history 77 Investment for the future 85 R&D institutions 88 Science and technology at the Kenyan universities 95 Estimating Kenya’s total expenditures on advancing science and technology 98 5 Tanzania 105 Introduction 105 Macro-economic trends in the Tanzanian economy 106 The structural readjustment programmes 115 R&D institutions 119 Education in science and technology 129 Estimates of the resources devoted to the pursuit of science and technology 135 6 Uganda 145 Introduction 145 Recent economic history 146 Investment for the future 149 R&D institutions 152 The Scientific and Technical Faculties of the University 164 Summary 166 Part III: Effects of the Pursuit of Science and Technology 7 Effects on the economy as a whole 171 Introduction 171 Overall expenditures on advancing science and technology 173 Expenditures of R&D institutes 178 Government financing of advances in science and technology 181 Flow of foreign funds into science and technology 183 Summary of the statistical evidence 185 A counterfactual experiment 188 8 Effects among sectors of the economy 193 Introduction 193 Economic activity by sector 194 Mobility between sectors 198 Transfer of resources and institutions from the public to the private sector 201 Summary 203 Contents vii 9 Effects within organizations 205 Introduction 205 Distinguishing between goods of greater and lesser economic potential for sub-Saharan African countries 206 The maintenance of firms’ capital equipment 210 The effectiveness of R&D efforts 212 A counterfactual experiment 216 Summary 221 Part IV: Conclusions and Recommendations 10 Conclusions 225 Introduction 225 A summary of the conclusions 226 Fluctuations in local government expenditures on the pursuit of science and technology 226 Increases in total expenditures on the pursuit of science and technology 232 The effects upon different areas of science and technology have been widely different 238 The areas of science and technology most vigorously pursued are increasingly determined by foreigners 244 The choice of the areas of science and technology to be pursued is based primarily upon the effects of such choice on the developed countries 248 Changes in decision-making for science and technology 249 11 Policy recommendations 257 Introduction 257 The Sub-Saharan economies in 2023 258 The aims of policy 261 The redirection of education and R&D 262 Devoting more resources to advancing science and technology 263 The direction in which R&D should move 264 Additional resources needed to increase the advance of science and technology 266 Policy implications of providing additional resources 267 Summary of policy recommendations 273 Bibliography 275 Index 282 Figures 1.1 Flow diagram of the model of structural adjustment 6 2.1 Production of goods X and Y by the economy, before and after advances in science and technology 27 2.2 Production possibilities for the economy with different & 2.3 elasticities of substitution for intermediate goods 29 2.4 Alternative trajectories with different values for the & 2.5 parameters measuring the elasticity of substitution (ß) and the efficiency of inputs (δ) 31 7.1 Visual comparison of actual Case I with counterfactual Case II 191 9.1 Production possibility curves for the present and future under Cases I and III 217 9.2 Terms of trade, exports and imports at some future date under Case I 219 9.3 Terms of trade, exports and imports at some future date under Case III 219 9.4 Total consumption at some future date under Cases I and III 221 10.1 Ghana: Expenditures on advancing science and technology, as a percentage of GDP, 1978/9–1991/2 236 10.2 Kenya: Expenditures on advancing science and technology, as a percentage of GDP, 1986/7–1990/1 236 10.3 Tanzania: Expenditures on advancing science and technology, as a percentage of GDP, 1982/3–1991/2 237 10.4 Uganda: Expenditures on advancing science and technology, as a percentage of GDP, 1982/3–1991/2 237 viii Tables 3.1 Ghana: GDP 1965–1991 40 3.2 Ghana: population, GDP per capita and annual rate of growth of GDP 1965–1991 41 3.3 Ghana: GDP by sector 1965–1991 42 3.4 Ghana: public, private and total investment as percentages of GDP 1970–1991 43 3.5 Ghana: balance of payments 1970–1991 45 3.6 Ghana: debt servicing 1970–1991 46 3.7 Ghana: total debt and its composition, 1970–1991 47 3.8 Ghana: government revenues, expenditures and investment 1969–1991 48 3.9 Ghana: Industrial Research Institute requests for and allocations of funds 1980–1991 54 3.10 Ghana: Scientific Instrumentation Centre requests for and allocations of funds 1981–1991 57 3.11 Ghana: Food Research Institute requests for and allocations of funds 1981–1991 59 3.12 Ghana: Technology Transfer Centre request for and allocations of funds 1988–1991 60 3.13 Ghana: Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana requests for funds and actual expenditures 1975/6–1990/1 65 3.14 Ghana: Technology Consultancy Centre requests for funds and actual expenditures 1972–1990 68 3.15 Ghana: compilation of expenditures (or approvals) on R&D by a sample of organizations, and comparison with estimates of total public expenditure on R&D 1980–1992 72 3.16 Ghana: R&D expenditures by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research 1974–1981 73 ix