ABSTRACT
For the most part, discussion of the impact of microelectronics innovations on the Third World has been confined to the shifting locus of comparative advantage to which these innovations may conceivably give rise. As one commentator has recently described this somewhat confining focus of the literature: "Sectoral research by development analysts into the industrial applications of microelectronics have tended to concentrate on the threat these pose for Third World exports. They have, therefore, devoted much less attention to the welfare and employment effects associated with the use of microelectronics-based innovations within the industrial sector in developing countries" (Hoffman, 1985, p. 269). The purpose of this paper is to suggest a simple framework in which to address some of these neglected questions. In particular, the concern will be with the output and employment effects of microelectronics technologies, and the framework for the analysis of these effects comprises two broad components. The first is what economists refer to as partial equilibrium analysis and the second embraces a variety of so-called general equilibrium or economy-wide modes of analysis. We begin with a brief discussion of the methodological issues underlying these two modes of analysis.
