Title: A rationale for government-mandated countertrade: technology transfer

Authors: Peter W. Liesch

Addresses: Faculty of Business, University College of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia

Abstract: The Australian Government Offsets Program targets technology transfer as a means of upgrading the technological base of Australian industry. Government attempts to establish pre-conditions for trade in order that local firms participate in activities in which they would not have done so otherwise. This involvement of government creates a competition for the rents from technological superiority; this process shares the characteristics of an activist trade and industrial policy which has become topical of late and is canvassed as strategic trade policy. This paper presents a rationale for one variety of such policy, government-mandated countertrade, practised as offsets policy.

Keywords: technology transfer; offsets policy; mandated countertrade; technological competition; markets-hierarchies; strategic policy; market imperfections; Australia; technology management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.1993.025790

International Journal of Technology Management, 1993 Vol.8 No.6/7/8, pp.486 - 499

Published online: 24 May 2009 *

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