TECHNOLOGY

The economy of Pakistan is the 27th largest economy in the world. The economy
encompasses textiles, chemicals, food processing, agriculture and other industries.
However we see that the economy has suffered in the past from decades of internal
political disputes, a fast growing population, mixed levels of foreign investment, and a
costly, ongoing confrontation with neighboring India. However, IMF-approved
government policies[citation needed], bolstered by foreign investment and renewed
access to global markets, have generated solid macroeconomic recovery the last
decade. Substantial macroeconomic reforms since 2000, most notably at privatizing the
banking sector have helped the economy.
GDP growth, spurred by gains in the industrial and service sectors, remained in the 68% range in 2004-06 due to economic reforms in the year 2000 by the Musharraf
government.[11] In 2005, the World Bank named Pakistan the top reformer in its region
and in the top 10 reformers globally.[12] Islamabad has steadily raised development
spending in recent years, including a 52% real increase in the budget allocation for
development in FY07, a necessary step toward reversing the broad underdevelopment
of its social sector. The fiscal deficit - the result of chronically low tax collection and
increased spending, including reconstruction costs from the devastating Kashmir
earthquake in 2005 was manageable.
Increasing welfare is due primarily to science and technology, and only secondarily to
economic growth. Scientific and technological progress generated economic growth, not
vice versa. In its present form, economic growth can hinder technological progress
(through increasing returns to scale reducing the rate of innovation). But current
technological progress can negatively impact economic growth, and especially in the
field of information technology. The falling price of manufacturing goods will lower the
economic growth rate.
Technology is of particular importance because it has been and continues to be the
main source of increases in productivity. The technological environment is a dynamic
environment. In the past century or so, technology has given us so much that we did not
have before, ranging from life-saving drugs to the Internet to miniaturization (laptops,
palmtops, camcorders, digital cameras, data storage devices like the USB, and so on)
to genetically engineered food. Science and technology is a growing and flourishing
field in Pakistan. Since its independence from Great Britain in 1947, the newly-found
nation of Pakistan has seen a large influx of scientists, engineers, doctors, and
technicians assuming an active role in Pakistan's fields of science and technology.
Pakistan has been known internationally for some of its major achievements in science
and technology such as its possession of strong weapons in the military, growing base
of doctors and engineers, and also a fair amount of its new influx of software engineers
who have been actively contributing to Pakistan's booming IT industry.
Pakistan has achieved goals in nuclear science, Space Science, Aerospace industries,
biological industries, Communication technology and many other science. Pakistan is
also the home country of many prominent scientists such as Dr. Abdus Salam who won

a Nobel Prize in Physics. There are many departments for science and technology for
various fields in our country namely:
Center For Applied & Molecular Biology (CAMB)
Council for Work and Housing Research (CWHR)
National Institute of Electronics (NIE)
National Institute of Oceanography (NIO)
National University of Science and Technology (NUST)
Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET)
Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST)
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR)
Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR)
Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC)
Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC)
Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF)
Pakistan Standards And Quality Control Authority (PSQCA)
Pakistan Technology Board Ministry of Science and Technology
STEDEC Technology Commercialization Corporation of Pakistan (Private) Limited.
Governments have to intervene in order to investigate and ban potentially unsafe
products or those which are not environment friendly.So for that reason the Consumer
Protection Act sets safety standards for every new consumer product, and companies
that fail to follow those standards are heavily penalized. Such regulations have raised
research costs and increased the time that it takes new technologies and products to
reach the market.
During a period of five years, NLDP made great efforts in the fields of manpower
training, hardware supply, software development, information networks, and curriculum
development in Pakistan. It set up computer training centers for training librarians,
introduced electronic mail and CD-ROM technology in Pakistani libraries, information
centers and library schools, sponsored courses on library automation in Pakistan and
sent librarians abroad for training. The project encouraged a group of librarians to work
on information technology projects in the country, and suggested a framework for
information networking in Pakistan.
Pakistan is an energy-deficient country. The renewable energy sources like wind
energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, biomass energy and fuel cell
technology can be used to overcome energy shortage in Pakistan. Renewable energy
sources and technologies have the potential to provide solutions to the long-standing
energy problems being faced by the developing countries. The expansion of existing
energy resources and exploration of new sources is an important exercise to be
considered in order to sustain their development initiatives.
The high-technology sector has become the most important and dynamic component of
manufacturing in the economy of Pakistan, particularly in its remarkable performance in

the generation of output and income. A remarkable change in factor shares towards an
increasing trend of capital share and a decreasing one in the income rewarded to labour
has been observed. In spite of the crucial importance attributed to high-tech industries
in Pakistan, no systematic study so far has been conducted on the structure of
production of this sector. This study is therefore, the first attempt to fill this gap. The
main objective of the study is to conduct an empirical analysis of the structure of
production of the aggregate high-tech sector in terms of the extent of returns to scale,
the rate and bias of technical change, and the degree of substitutability among factor
inputs.
A secondary objective is to examine the major implications of the estimated structure of
production on the labour generation capacity of the high-tech sector, and the distribution
of factor cost shares. The analysis is based on a translog specification of the cost of
production that incorporates capital, labour and material inputs. Six models are
estimated in order to test different hypothesis on the structure of production of the hightech sector. Results of the study indicate that: a) production is characterized by positive
economies of scale while technical change exibited a factor bias, being material saving
and capital using, no discernible effect was noted with respect to labour; c) scale is
labour and capital saving, and material using; d) the material-saving bias of technical
change, and the unbiased scale effect contributed positively to the increase in the rate
of cost diminution during the period analysed while the general bias and the capitalusing bias of technical change contributed in the opposite direction; e) capital and labor,
and capital and materials are strong substitutes; t) labour and material inputs were
found to be complements during most of the period analysed, even though the
estimated elasticity of substitution in this case was not statistically significant; g) the
own-price elasticity coefficients for all three inputs were smaller than unity indicating a
relatively inelastic demand; h) the demand for labour is more responsive to changes in
the prices of the other two inputs than vice versa; i) capital and labour are not
functionally separable from material inputs; and j) the results obtained on the structure
of production of the high-tech sector are, in general, compatible with the trends
observed in high-tech employment and factor cost shares.
Finally, this study opened several areas of future inquiry. Among others, further research
can be oriented to: a) extend, improve and disaggregate the data base used in the
study; b) adjust the model to modify the technical change, long-run equilibrium (fixity of
capital), and competitive markets assumptions; c) estimate the models for each industry
included in the high-tech definition adopted; and d) perform additional tests related to
the reparability among factor inputs.
The importance of information technology in the present world can not be
underestimated as it has dominated almost all the fields of business and industry

including the service sector and one having no touch with this technology would not be
able to make any progress in the century to come.
Instead of discussing the role of this technology in the economic development of
Pakistan, it would be more appropriate to say that there would be no desired economic
development of any country without fully adopting this technology. If Pakistan wants to
come in line with the progressive nations of the world it would have no alternate except
to strive more and more for the development of Information Technology which includes
(1) Computer Technology (2) Communication Technology and (.3) Robitics.
Marketing management can also note the importance of technology, within the scope of
its marketing efforts. Computer-based information systems can be employed, aiding in a
better processing and storage of data. Marketing researchers can use such systems to
devise better methods of converting data into information, and for the creation of
enhanced data gathering methods. Information technology can aid in improving an
MKIS' software and hardware components, to improve a company's marketing decisionmaking process.
In recent years, the netbook personal computer has gained significant market share
among laptops, largely due to its more user-friendly size and portability. Information
technology typically progress at a fast rate, leading to marketing managers being
cognizant of the latest technological developments. Moreover, the launch of
smartphones into the cellphone market is commonly derived from a demand among
consumers for more technologically advanced products. A firm can lose out to
competitors, should it refrain from noting the latest technological occurrences in its
industry.
Technological advancements can facilitate lesser barriers between countries and
regions. Via using the World Wide Web, firms can quickly dispatch information from one
country to another, without much restriction. Prior to the mass usage of the Internet,
such transfers of information would have taken longer to send, especially if via snail
mail, telex, etc.
It is to be noted however that everything in the universe has its uses and abuses. The
same applies to technology. Science has revolutionized the human existence. It has
made man's life happier and more comfortable. Electricity is one of the greatest
wonders of modern technology. The growth of fast modes of transport and
communication has changed the world into global village. In the field of agriculture,
science has helped in increasing the crop production and improving quality. Science
and technology has enabled man to diagnose and treat many dangerous diseases.
Information technology and computers have revolutionized our life-styles. But, the boon
of science, in many cases, has been turned into bane because of its misuse.
Technology has posed a threat to the very existence of mankind with weapons-nuclear,
biological, atomic, chemical etc. Cyber crime is the latest addition to crimes' list.
Misapplication of technology has brought mankind to the path of destruction.
Hence, we should use science to get its blessings and not misuse it to make it a curse.