Management as a critical element in economic growth
In the light of the increasing concern for economic growth, it is natural for social scientists to look for underlying causes of that growth. Why does one country have a higher per capita national income than another? Or why do productivity increases differ in various countries?

Concern for productivity and economic growth. Because of the disparity in national incomes and the problems caused in much of the world by incomes that do not allow for adequate subsistence, let alone the raising of cultural standards, the attention of world leaders and development economists has naturally turned to the need for increasing productivity.

The necessities of economic development were thought to be the transfer of technology, education, and capital. But as important as these are, it is now recognized that advanced managerial know-how is essential and often overlooked as an element responsible for growth and improved productivity.

Although one must grant that pure technical knowledge is necessary for economic growth, such knowledge is fairly easy to transfer between countries, and no nation holds a monopoly on it for very long. Even a technological development as sophisticated as that of the atomic bomb, whose secrecy was closely protected by the US, became known in Russia, France, China, and elsewhere in less than two decades.

Most advances in technology are neither as complex nor as well guarded, and so their transfer is not likely to be difficult, particularly when one realizes that in any country only a few people need to have this knowledge to make it available for use.

On the other hand, cultural factors such as the level of education and, in particular, knowledge of skills have an important impact on economic progress. Also, cultural variables such as the desire for the products and services can be