Adapting to the foreign technological challenge

Abstract

United States technology is increasingly viewed as providing the backbone and where-withal to arrest the nation's economic slide and to restore the accustomed U.S. leadership position in international trade. This view stems from demonstrated U.S. preeminence in technology, the importance of technology in economic growth, and the ascendance of technology in foreign affairs and international trade today. But, undue preoccupation with the domestic technology base represents at best a suboptimum strategy in the face of a continuing decline in the national investment in R&D. In view of the incipient shifting of the world technological balance overseas, comparable attention needs to be focused on foreign technological developments, and their potential for import and adaptation to help fuel technological innovation at home. A more balanced mix of foreign and domestic technological ingredients in the U.S. socioeconomic cauldron promises to be more attuned to the reality of scarce domestic resources and the changing world environment.