New Products: A Discussion of the Welfare Effects of the Introduction of New Products in Developing Countries

Abstract

One of the most important ways in which advanced countries have changed poor countries is through the impact of new products. Products designed in industrialized countries have transformed consumption and production patterns, culture and society. The significance of new products is widely recognized at a popular level and forms a central part of much informal discussion: ‘good’ products (vaccination, new seeds) are contrasted with the notoriously ‘bad’ (powdered baby milk, high-tar cigarettes, sophisticated and expensive weapons). But while the effects of new products are recognized as of enormous importance at a popular level, economists have generally neglected the question. Discussions of technology transfer are mostly framed in terms of the costs of the transfer and of the production characteristics of the techniques.KeywordsPoor CountryWelfare EffectAdvanced CountryIndifference CurveConsumer WelfareThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.