we asked richard gill why economists put emphasis on new tecology. xpertsgree that, in one way or another,new techlogy is ateart of proctivity grow much of thisrowt isn the formf w oduc thatidn'exisa ceury ago. anthe way weroduceld products, like wheat or poultry, has also been revolutionized by new technology. this means the intangible human factors in growth-- advances in knowledge, increased education, research a developmentprograms-- are universally aged be critically important to increasing our productivity. the practical question here is how far the government should take the lead in pmoting these facrs. we have examples ofuccessfu government projects-- like thetomic energy pgram or the spacerogram two projec close toresident carter's heart. there are also arguments as to why government should involve itself heavily inesearcand vepmen- the costs may be too larger private industry payoffs may be tooarff. also there is e danger of rival firms imitating pirating, or benefiting om one's own r&d eorts. all this adds up atrong case r governme iolme. e