Domestic technological innovations and dynamic comparative advantage: Further reflections on a comparative case-study program

This paper analyzes some key factors affecting the acquisition of technological capabilities by industries in the less developed countries. It uses the findings of an extensive survey of historical experience in industrial plants in Latin America to examine: the sequence in which different types of capability are acquired, the differing impact on acquisition of different ways of organizing production, the effects of firm-level and wider macroeconomic variables on the nature and pace of acquisition, and the issues involved in promoting the acquisition of technological capabilities through protecting infant industries in different circumstances regarding market size and the nature of the technology employed.