The Inaugural Kenneth J. Arrow lecture
“Helping Infant Economies Grow: Promoting Innovation and Learning in Developing Countries”
Dear Professor Joseph Stiglitz:
A couple of days ago, I came to know about the Inaugural Kenneth J. Arrow lecture held at Columbia University on Wednesday, November 12, 2008. In that lecture-discussion, you, Professors Bruce Greenwald, Philippe Aghion and Robert Solow had discussed the topic, "Helping Infant Economies Grow: Promoting Innovation and Learning in Developing Countries", with concluding remarks by Professor Kenneth Arrow himself.
Over the last couple of days, I have watched the video of that lecture-discussion a few times. You had raised several questions in that lecture-discussion about ways to increase the learning capacities of societies, especially in the developing countries (infant economies, as you call them). In this regard, I have been writing an article about strategies for promoting innovation and learning in developing countries. My article is entitled, "Effective Philanthropy in India: A Case Study for Contributing to the Strengthening of the Foundations of a Developing Nation". I have attached a copy of this article (in its current form), to this e-mail. My article can also be accessed at my blog-site:
http://selvasblog.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html
Please note that I am taking a different perspective, from the Greenwald-Stiglitz perspective that was discussed in the Kenneth J. Arrow lecture, about the ability of societies in the developing world to learn and compete in a knowledge-based global economy of the future. To give a brief introduction to my approach, please recall that in your lecture-discussion, you had mentioned the example of Korea -- that based on the classical comparative-advantages theory, Korea was advised by the World Bank and the IMF in the 1950s to keep focusing on growing rice, and let the Western economies focus on technology.
My line of attack is not on the comparative-advantages theory itself, but to question the assumption that, in the 1950s, the advanced Western economies were much better placed than Korea was to produce technology-intensive goods. So much better placed it would seem that a clear division of labor for growing rice in Korea and making technology-intensive goods in the West could be envisioned. This assumption, of a division of labor between Korea and the West, seems especially questionable in light of later evidence that Asian students have been the highest scorers on math and science tests, at the high school level, consistently for several decades now.
I am copying Professors Philippe Aghion, Kenneth Arrow and Bruce Greenwald as well (I could not get the e-mail address of Professor Robert Solow). I hope to hear from at least one of you so that I can explain my ideas further. I also hope that you would consider favorably about employing me for a post-doctoral or a tenure-track position.
Sincerely,
T V Selvakumaran
CC: Prof. Bruce Greenwald, Prof. Philippe Aghion, Prof. Kenneth Arrow, Prof. Michael Woodford
“Helping Infant Economies Grow: Promoting Innovation and Learning in Developing Countries”
Bruce Greenwald and Joseph Stiglitz
With discussants: Philippe Aghion and Robert Solow
Wednesday, November 12, 6PM
at Casa Italiana, 117th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
Dear Professor Joseph Stiglitz:
A couple of days ago, I came to know about the Inaugural Kenneth J. Arrow lecture held at Columbia University on Wednesday, November 12, 2008. In that lecture-discussion, you, Professors Bruce Greenwald, Philippe Aghion and Robert Solow had discussed the topic, "Helping Infant Economies Grow: Promoting Innovation and Learning in Developing Countries", with concluding remarks by Professor Kenneth Arrow himself.
Over the last couple of days, I have watched the video of that lecture-discussion a few times. You had raised several questions in that lecture-discussion about ways to increase the learning capacities of societies, especially in the developing countries (infant economies, as you call them). In this regard, I have been writing an article about strategies for promoting innovation and learning in developing countries. My article is entitled, "Effective Philanthropy in India: A Case Study for Contributing to the Strengthening of the Foundations of a Developing Nation". I have attached a copy of this article (in its current form), to this e-mail. My article can also be accessed at my blog-site:
http://selvasblog.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html
Please note that I am taking a different perspective, from the Greenwald-Stiglitz perspective that was discussed in the Kenneth J. Arrow lecture, about the ability of societies in the developing world to learn and compete in a knowledge-based global economy of the future. To give a brief introduction to my approach, please recall that in your lecture-discussion, you had mentioned the example of Korea -- that based on the classical comparative-advantages theory, Korea was advised by the World Bank and the IMF in the 1950s to keep focusing on growing rice, and let the Western economies focus on technology.
My line of attack is not on the comparative-advantages theory itself, but to question the assumption that, in the 1950s, the advanced Western economies were much better placed than Korea was to produce technology-intensive goods. So much better placed it would seem that a clear division of labor for growing rice in Korea and making technology-intensive goods in the West could be envisioned. This assumption, of a division of labor between Korea and the West, seems especially questionable in light of later evidence that Asian students have been the highest scorers on math and science tests, at the high school level, consistently for several decades now.
I am copying Professors Philippe Aghion, Kenneth Arrow and Bruce Greenwald as well (I could not get the e-mail address of Professor Robert Solow). I hope to hear from at least one of you so that I can explain my ideas further. I also hope that you would consider favorably about employing me for a post-doctoral or a tenure-track position.
Sincerely,
T V Selvakumaran
CC: Prof. Bruce Greenwald, Prof. Philippe Aghion, Prof. Kenneth Arrow, Prof. Michael Woodford
(The above e-mail was sent on March 2, 2009 to Professors Joseph Stiglitz, Philippe Aghion and Kenneth Arrow on March 2, 2009. However, since the e-mail bounced from Professor Stiglitz's mailbox, I sent it again, this time to Professor Michael Woodford, the host of the Kenneth Arrow lecture, on March 4, 2009, with copies to Professor Philippe Aghion and Kenneth Arrow. In a header to the e-mail, I asked Professor Michael Woodford to kindly forward the body of the e-mail message to Professor Joseph Stiglitz. I didn't receive any response from any of the recipients. I had actually sent Professor Joseph Stiglitz my philanthropy article first on July 17, 2007. I didn't hear from him then too. I am somewhat concerned about not receiving any response from these professors because they are now taking perspectives on trade and growth that overlap with the viewpoints I have been pursuing in my philanthropy article, which I started writing in the summer of 2006).
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