by Jutta Kern

with expert contributions on
> Science in Africa: Getting There Slowly by Mohamed H.A. Hassan
> The US National Academies African Science Academy Development Initiative: Harnessing Science and Technology Expertise for Development in Africa by Patrick Kelley

In an increasingly knowledge-based global economy, the wealth of a nation is significantly determined by its capacity for innovation. Science and research appear more and more to be a part of the political agenda, as the debate on federal and state financing for stem cell research in the United States recently showed. The public and political debate on science and technology issues, however, is not unique to the United States, Europe, or another nation—science and research have become globalized to such an extent that these fields are relevant factors in global economy. Issues such as stem cell research in the US, for instance, are debated so prominently not only because of their promise for relieving human ailments, but also due to their economic bearing on industries, municipalities, regions, states, and nations. The demand to double Europe’s research budget for the next seven years was certainly not driven by the notion of “recherche pour la recherche” but by the goal of making Europe’s economy more competitive. In general, the answer to the question of “who has and who doesn’t have” scientific capacities provides evidence of the status of a country’s development on a global scale.

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