Sociologizing the Technological Frontier: The Next Generation of Growth in China
Channel: Salvatore Babones
Date: 2016-06-04

At the foundation of neoclassical growth theory in economics is the concept of the "technological frontier": the world's leading economies are considered to operate at the highest level of available technology, with other countries playing catch-up.  To a sociologist, however, this makes no sense: are homeless people in San Jose, California living at the same technological frontier as engineers on the nearby Google campus?  Or if the technological frontier is considered an integral aspect of a social system taken as a whole, is US society really a model to be copied?  This presentation sociologizes the technological frontier to frame it comparative perspective.  The technological frontier is becoming a characteristic of the individual instead of a characteristic of a country.  The implications of this for economic development in countries around the world -- including China -- are that economic development is best promoted through human development (schools, hospitals, and social services).  The most important priority for development is to being ordinary people up to the developmental level already enjoyed by the middle class.