ABSTRACT
Any particularly horrible crime gives ammunition to proponents of the death penalty. Any particularly egregious Soviet violation of the so-called 'spirit of detente' provokes Western analysts to seek a suitable punishment, or at least a threat short of military force, that would induce the Russians to be less beastly and more cooperative. There is little economic reason to believe that any threat of restricting technology transfer to the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe could extract significant noneconomic concessions from the East. East European interest in importing technology has undoubtedly been enhanced by the desire to modernize more quickly thereby raising economic growth rates. Technology transfers affect exporters as well as importers. Data processing is a military-related field that has attracted much attention. Restrictions on the export of computing equipment might appear to have considerable justification on strictly defense or security grounds.
