Science, Technology and Economics

1996/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Teknologia

II. To the contest CAF-Elhuyar several works on economy were presented. Until now, Elhuyar. In the articles published in the journal Science and Technology, the topics have always been related to different fields of science and technology. Therefore, in this journal the economy has not been a subject of great weight. However, the authors who have presented works that address this topic do not seem to have the same opinion and have related it to the title of the economic prize, that is, with science and technology. To a large extent I think they are right.

Most of the decisions that are made in this western culture have a solid basis in economic views and science and technology are not left out of this trend. In our country, for example, in the technical decisions that are made daily in many workshops, economic criteria are taken into account. To solve a problem, on more than one occasion technology offers different possibilities, but the economy limits them remarkably.

The area of materials is an example of this. In recent years new materials are being developed. Some of them, like some composites, are hardly used, although their properties are very good and interesting. The problem is economic and the use of these materials will not extend until you find other ways of obtaining cheaper. Therefore, economic criteria limit technological progress and, therefore, so that technology can overcome these limits, the path has to be treated.

Similar behaviors are also observed in the research. In research projects called Brite of the European Union, in addition to scientific and technological points of view, the economic advances that can be achieved through the development of the project are an important part of the evaluation. Thus, it seems that political leaders want to promote especially the investigations that can generate economic benefits.

Returning to the initial line, if, in the development of science and technology, the economic points of view are also taken into account, it is evident that a journal that analyzes these two topics cannot leave aside the economic perspective. The economy has many internal branches. Some will not have much to do with the development of science or technology, but others may be of great help and interest to make more understandable the changes that occur on both worlds.