Basic sciences and basic research – building blocks for economic growth

Lazarus Sauti

Basic sciences and basic research – research directed towards the increase of knowledge, the primary aim being a greater understanding of the subject under study- are the building blocks for long-term economic growth and the key to a 21st-century economy.

Accordingly, African countries should focus on basic sciences, such as physics and chemistry, to grow their economies faster and create employment.

More so, investing in basic sciences and research are best ways a middle-income country can foment fast economic growth.

Robert Birgeneau, Canadian physicist, educator and university administrator, believes that societal advances depend on basic sciences.

“To achieve transformative advances for society, we must invest in long-term basic science and in new technologies, which in turn can be developed into new industries,” remarked Birgeneau.

Sharing the same views, researcher Klaus Jaffe believes that scientific productivity in basic science, including physics, chemistry and material sciences, correlates strongly with countries’ economic growth.

Jaffe explained: “The most important thing is to invest in basic sciences. Preferential investment in technology, without investment in basic sciences, achieves little economic development.”

He goes on to say, “Technology without science is unlikely to be sustainable.”

This means that for sustainable development, countries within and across the African continent should invest in basic sciences.

This is the reason why Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research, Romain Murenzi, highlights the contributions that physics can make to economic development.

“The importance of physics for the economic development of all countries is clear.

“Physics is the most basic of sciences and its concepts and techniques underpin the progress of all other branches of science.

“It is also a cross-cutting discipline that has applications in many sectors of economic development, including health, agriculture, water, energy and information technology,” said Murenzi.

Murenzi added, “The application of basic sciences through technology is also crucial for providing the infrastructure that all modern countries need.”

Most countries of Africa, for example, are trying to build the infrastructure they need to be able to do proper research.

This competes with trying to find solutions to everyday problems to guarantee people’s subsistence.

On basic research, Stefan Kaufmann, Director at the Max Planck Institute, believes the African continent needs more of it especially on infectious diseases.

Kaufmann said, “In setting up a Max Planck Research Group in South Africa, our aim is to promote basic research on HIV and tuberculosis in Africa.”

This means large scale investment by governments in basic research in universities is of crucial importance if African countries are to transform their economies.

Because of this, African governments should be urged to support universities and use them as vehicles that can foster the proper use of basic sciences to empower people.

This is so because research universities are primary institutions in which basic research, driven by scientific interest irrespective of possible applications, takes place.

To invest in basic sciences and guarantee the continuing excellence of public universities, policy decision makers in the African continent must re-examine the basic model that public education is the sole responsibility of the states.

This is so because the future of Africa and its ability to innovate and create jobs rest in investing in basic sciences, on the health of research and teaching universities with the public institutions having the additional responsibility of educating a huge fraction of the continent’s future scientists.

Accordingly, African governments should invest heavily in basic sciences and basic research and use them as building blocks for economic faster economic growth.