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 6-8% 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 high-tech 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 capital-using 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 decision-making 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.