Revitalizing the city through science and education is the locomotive for rejuvenating the country through science and education. Some historical experiences of rejuvenating the country through science and education should be studied and learned by us.
Improving the education level of all people is an important way to improve the national economy and achieve economic catch-up. Data show that since the late 19th century, in the history of world economic development, there have been three successful cases of economic catch-up between the United States and the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States, and South Korea and Western Europe. The improvement of national education levels was an important reason for this.
1871 to 1913 was an important period when the U.S. economy rapidly surpassed that of Britain. At the same time, this period was also a period when U.S. human capital accelerated its pursuit of Britain. In the United States, the average number of years of education per capita in the United States was equivalent to 87.5% of that in the United Kingdom in 1820, which increased to 88.3% in 1870, and further increased to 91.2% in 1913.
In 1953, Japan began to take off economically. In 1992, Japan's per capita GDP was equivalent to 90.1% of the United States' per capita GDP, setting a world record of a 28-fold increase in per capita GDP from 1820 to 1992. Therefore, Japan is regarded as the most successful "catch-up" country in the world. At the same time, Japan has also successfully caught up in human capital accumulation. In 1913, Japan's average years of education per capita was equivalent to 68.2% of that of the United States. In 1950, it reached 80.8% of that of the United States. It has generally maintained this level since then, with 82.9% in 1973 and 82.4% in 1992.
From 1965 to 1992, South Korea’s average annual GDP growth rate was 8.8%. In 1973, South Korea's per capita GDP was equivalent to 24.3% of Western European countries' per capita GDP, rising to 57.5% in 1992. At the same time, South Korea achieved universal primary education in 1960. After the economy took off in the 1970s, it began to vigorously develop higher education, increasing by about 20 percentage points every 10 years: from 1975 to 1985, the higher education enrollment rate increased from 10% to 30%, realizing the popularization of higher education; from 1985 to 1995, the higher education enrollment rate increased from 30% to 50%. It took about 15 years to increase the secondary education enrollment rate from about 60% to 90%.
The above three typical examples of successful economic catch-up show that every successful economic catch-up is accompanied by human capital catching up first, and human capital catch-up is the forerunner of economic catch-up.
In addition to increasing investment in education, cultivating high-quality workers, and fully developing human resources, increasing investment in science and technology and cultivating scientific and technological talents are also important reasons why the United States, Japan, and South Korea have successfully achieved economic catch-up.
The United States established the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. In the 1870s and 1880s, industrial science institutes and agricultural experiment stations were established in various states across the country. The federal government allocated 15,000 yuan to each agricultural experiment station as a Fund, by the end of the 19th century there were 56 such experimental stations. The government also subsidizes states to establish science and engineering universities and agricultural colleges in the form of land grants. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were 53 such “land-grant colleges.” Before the Civil War, there were no less than 400 agricultural magazines published in the United States, of which fifty or sixty had circulations between 250,000 and 350,000. At that time, about 1/10 farmers subscribed to agricultural magazines. Technology leadership has gradually shifted from the United Kingdom and Europe to the United States. For example, although the internal combustion engine was invented in Europe, it was most quickly and widely used in the United States; electric power technology was mostly invented in Europe, but the first power plant was built in the United States; steel technology was invented in the United Kingdom and France, and was first developed in the United States. Use scale. In terms of the number of patent registrations, starting in 1860, the United States far exceeded the United Kingdom. From 1865 to 1869, there were 2,299 cases in the United Kingdom and 10,895 in the United States; from 1875 to 1879, there were 3,379 cases in the United Kingdom and 13,689 in the United States; from 1885 to 1889, there were 9,371 cases in the United Kingdom and 21,666 in the United States; from 1895 to 1899, there were 13,419 cases in the United Kingdom and 13,689 in the United States. 21,680; from 1905 to 1909, the number in the United Kingdom was 15,423, and that in the United States was 33,220; in 1913, the number in the United Kingdom was 16,599, while the number in the United States had reached 33,917.
The United States at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was called the "Age of Invention". Many world-class inventors and industrialists such as Thomas Edison and Alexander Bell emerged. Scientific innovation and technological inventions advanced by leaps and bounds, and were quickly transformed into new industries. into powerful productivity.
In the early days after World War II, Japan's science and technology lagged far behind Europe and the United States. However, after nearly 40 years of catching up, Japan has entered the ranks of technological powers. According to analysis by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), from 1960 to 1973, 78% of the gap in economic growth between Japan and the United States was due to the gap in the contribution of technological progress to economic growth; while from 1980 to 1986, the economic growth rate between Japan and the United States 100% of the gap is also due to the gap in the contribution of technological progress to economic growth. In 1970, Japan's scientific and technological research funding was about 1/8 of that of the United States, in 1980 it was 1/3, and by 1990 it was 2/3. In 1970, Japan's scientific and technological personnel were 172,000, which increased to 484,300 in 1990, almost More than 10,000 people are added every year, more than other developed countries except the United States. The ratio of Japanese researchers per 10,000 people is 45.3, ranking first among all countries in the world.
In the 1980s, South Korea changed its development strategy from "building a country through exports" to "building a country through science and technology." The overall goal was to strengthen research and development, cultivate and improve innovation capabilities; develop certain cutting-edge technologies; build emerging industries; Research, applied research and development research are combined. South Korea's R&D/GNP was only 0.96% in 1976, jumped to 1.82% in 1986, and increased to 2.6% in 1990, reaching the level of Western Europe. From 1963 to 1987, science and technology investment increased from US$9.5 million to US$2.35 billion, an increase of more than 240 times.
The above facts clearly tell us that effectively improving Shanghai’s education and technological development level is the only way for Shanghai to catch up with world cities.