Information and Regional Development Planning

"It is obvious that if a country wants economic development, it must first know what it has to deal with. The obvious first step is a natural resources inventory." Such a statement is often read in the economic development and planning literature. Such a statement is very often interpreted, especially by development planning administrators, to mean a "complete" description of resources endowed in the country (or the region) which is a monstrous job that requires the diversion of effort and talent from far more important tasks from the total development point of view. It can be argued that just a better knowledge of resources, or some particular studies about some resources, might prove to be more valuable to the attainment of the development goals.