1st Edition

Technological Change In The German Democratic Republic

By Raymond Bentley Copyright 1984

    Focusing on East Germany’s capacity to innovate and diffuse technology, this book sheds light on the technological gap that has developed between the two Germanies. Dr. Bentley compares the sophistication of GDR and FRG technology in different industrial branches, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the GDR’s research and development system, compares the R&D effort of the two Germanies, and discusses the government policies that affected technological change in GDR industry from 1945 to 1975. He identifies and analyzes hindrances to research, innovation, and diffusion in the fields of planning, organization, economic stimulation, and ideology, and looks at the formation of interest groups. He also compares evidence from the GDR with data from other countries, including the USSR.

    Westview Replica Editions -- Foreword -- Introduction -- The Technological Background -- The Industrial Research and Development Effort -- The System of Detailed Central Planning, 1945–1962 -- The New Economic System and Its Successor, 1963–1975 -- The Offensive Strategy for Technological Change, 1967/68–1971 -- The Effort to Link Academic Science with Industry, 1945–1975 -- Conclusion -- Tables -- Experimental Comparison of Industrial R&D in the GDR and FRG for 1964 and 1970 According to the Frascati Definition

    Biography

    Raymond Bentley wrote this study as a guest researcher of the Abteilung fuer Wissenschaftsforschung (Department of Science Studies) at the University of Ulm, Federal Republic of Germany.