Research On The Development Of The Theories Of Technological Economics

Undoubtedly, technological economics is a branch of economics initiated by those Chinese economists of the older generation, and this discipline took tremendous effect in the economy construction in China. From 1960s to now, technological economics had gone through more than 40 years. During this period, technological economics was criticized in the 1960s and 1970s, and the 1980s was a brilliant period of this discipline. Now, we should pay more attention to the fact that the theories of this dicipline develops more and more slow.From the historical facts of the development of technological economics, the paper studies the theories development of technological econmics.Investigating the evolution process of technological economics with the contents stastics of the 115 works of technological economics, the author finds that there exists following problems. Firstly, the titles of the theories of technological economics are mixed and disorderly, lacking new breakthroughs and developments. Secondly, the research on the analytical and evaluating methods of technological economics made progresses very slowly and lacked autonomous innovation. Thirdly, the research on the special subjects of technological economics made progresses slowly. Fourthly, the contens of technological economics of department duplicated those of technological economics, especially technological economics of industry lacks its own characteristics. Fifthly, the textbooks with the Chines characteristics of technological economics are becoming less and less.Investigating the paradigm of technological economics from the basic categories, research object, theoretical basis and basic theories of technological economics, there is not a dominent paradigm in the research on technological economics. Therefore, from the angle of paradigm, technological economics has not entered the stage which called normal science by Kuhn, in other words, technological economics has not been a mature discipline. Based on such a understanding, this study gives a new periodical division of technological economics, that means there three periods respectively named initiating period(1963-1980), rapid developing period(1981-1987) and slow developing period(1988-).On the basis of reviewing the achievments of technological economics during its three developing stages, this study summarizes the main viewpoints on the structure of the fundamental theories of technological economics in the academic circles. The study points out the differeces between theoretical basis and fundamental theories and analyzes the main theories of technological economics formed in different developing stages.The study puts forward a system of fundamental theories of technological economics including theories of productivity, of economic effects, of technological and economic comparition, of technological and economic standards, of essential factors of production, and of time value.In the research on essential factors of production which is the important part of this study, the author analyzes the concept, the nature and classification of capital, labor and labor force.After that, the study points out that there are two concepts of generalized and specialized essential factors of production. In specialized sense, essential factors of production means the basic material resources needed in the production of goods and services, in generalized sense, essential factors of production means the components of a productive system in a society production. The study discusses the main viewpoints of some historical schools in the field of essential factors of production and concludes their new developments, and analyzes the defaults existed in the present theory about essential factors of production. The study gives a simple appraisement on the theory about six forces of factor of production which was initiated by Xushoubo.In this theory, Xushoubo put forward six forces which was named labor force, material force, capital force,natural force,freight force and time force, these forces are all basic essential factors of production. The paper points out that the labor factor should be labor force in the traditional theories of essential factors of production. With the meaning of generalized factors of production, the author advances a hierarchical theory about factors of production.