Since the industrial revolution, government, society, and industry have attempted to channel technological progress in useful directions. Whether it is the printing press, the cotton gin the automobile or the Internet, technological innovations often have profound economic and social effects. To harness the benefits and minimize the more harmful effects of new technologies, modern governments use four basic approaches: specific direction, market incentives, criminal prohibition, and behavior modification.
Specific direction starts with governments identifying one or more key factors in the R&D phase. Then, using a variety of means ranging from administrative regulation to outright state ownership, the government seeks to control the implementation of the technology.
Market incentives are the deliberate manipulation of the market by the government to control how a particularly technology is distributed and used. For example, some governments impose taxes to cover the hidden costs associated with the use of a particular technology. For example, raising gasoline taxes to pay for highway improvements. Other methods include the granting of subsidies to private researchers or the strengthening of intellectual property laws to give added incentives to developers.
Criminal prohibition usually takes place when strong opposition exists to a particular technology or field of research. In recent years, most developed countries have enacted legislation to ban the cloning of human beings. Other examples are the enforcement of clean air regulations that force power plants to emit fewer greenhouse gasses.
Finally, behavior modification includes the use of the media, advertising, and government and corporate leadership to encourage a particular society to use a technology in a beneficial way. For example, while there is limited government regulation of the Internet, websites are encouraged to install safeguards to pr children from viewing inappropriate material. A recent national advertising campaign recently boosted the percentage of New York residents who recycled by almost 25%. Such campaigns do not use direct government regulation, but instead appeal to the user’s sense of civic duty or social responsibility.
Of all new technologies, perhaps none has changed the landscape and character of American life more than the automobile. Yet, the costs of this technology are not always reflected in the price of Using the technology. For example, it costs an oil company $ 0.89 per gallon of gas produced. This same liter is sold to U. S. consumers at about $1.20 per gallon. Yet while this price reflects the cost of production plus a profit for the oil company it does not reflect the actual cost of using the technology. For that, we must factor in the environmental costs associated with air pollution (increased health care, environmental degradation) and the political costs (dependence on foreign oil, energy shortages). In short, in order to be effective, all of these strategies for channeling technology to benefit society must incorporate all the costs associated with usage.
Behavior modification is different from the other three measures in that