Innovation and Prosperity: Public Policy in the Age of Technological Abundance

Takeaways from the Harvard Kennedy School IDEASpHERE discussion “Public Policy in the Age of Technological Abundance," with Calestous Juma

Sampling of Notable Thoughts

The ICT [Information Communications Technology] revolution has changed the way leaders think about development, from confronting scarcity to harnessing knowledge and information.

Successfully harnessing the benefits of technology requires both the will and the ability to do so.

Cooperation between public and private sector is the key to success in these areas.

Summary

When Olafur Eliasson and Frederik Ottesen first developed Little Sun – a small solar-powered lamp costing $5 – they had no idea that in addition to providing light, their product also had the potential to raise student performance levels 40 percent by allowing students to study longer and later into the night.  Speaking at Harvard Kennedy School’s IDEASpHERE, Calestous Juma, director of the Belfer Center's Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, cited Little Sun as an example of a small technological advancement that has had an outsized impact on social welfare.

In his presentation “Innovation and Prosperity: Public Policy in the Age of Technological Abundance,” Juma emphasized the positive and transformative role that rapid technological advancements have had in the developing world.

Juma said that in addition to providing quantifiable improvements in living and education standards, the information communication technology (ICT) revolution has also changed the nature of the conversation about development – from confronting scarcity to harnessing knowledge and information.

Without leaders who are capable of understanding technological advancement and its implications, and who are able to work with the private sector in implementing them, Juma said that development initiatives are bound to fail. However, those that are capable of such forward thinking can create lasting improvements in human development, agricultural production, and economic activity.