Innovation and Economic Development

Abstract

Is innovation important for development? And if so, how?One popular perception of innovation, that one meets in media every day, is that has to do with developing brand new, advanced solutions for sophisticated, well-off customers, through exploitation of the most recent advances in knowledge. Such innovation is normally seen as carried out by highly educated labour in R&D intensive companies, being large or small, with strong ties to leading centers of excellence in the scientific world. Hence innovation in this sense is a typical "first world" activity. There is, however, another way to look at innovation that goes significantly beyond the high-tech picture just described. In this broader perspective, innovation -the attempt to try out new or improved products, processes or ways to do things -is an aspect of most if not all economic activities. It includes not only technologically new products and processes but also improvements in areas such as logistics, distribution and marketing. The term may also be used for changes that are new to the local context, even if the contribution to the global knowledge frontier is negligible. In this broader sense, it is argued, innovation may be as relevant in the developing part of the world as elsewhere. The paper surveys the existing literature on the subject with a strong emphasis on recent evidence on the macro and -in particular -micro level.

La capacidad innovadora de la economía mexicana

“…Por una parte, el efecto endógeno surge del esfuerzo tecnológico de los agentes, mientras que su impacto depende de factores ajenos al agente innovador. Por tanto, los diversos factores que determinan la productividad total no son independientes unos de otros y es necesario considerar los cambios en la naturaleza del acervo de bienes de capital, en la po-blación activa y en los efectos de escala como fenómenos que interactúan entre sí (Fagerberg¸ Srholec y Verspagen, 2010;Autio et al, 2014). Esto cuestiona los modelos lineales de la innovación, tanto los de empuje de la oferta como los de jalón de la demanda, para pasar a modelos interactivos que toman en cuenta, entre otros elementos, la naturaleza de los gastos en id y de las iniciativas empresariales, resaltando las interrelaciones de los distintos agentes y entornos que intervienen en el proceso (Mungaray y Palacio, 2000).…”

“…Algunos autores evolucionistas trabajan el proceso innovador con el enfoque de sistemas nacionales de innovación a partir de la estructura de producción y del marco institucional de una nación (Fagerberg¸ Srholec y Verspagen, 2010;Lundvall, 2010;Soete, Verspagen y Baster, 2010). La estructura productiva determina las relaciones que se establecen entre sectores y empresas, así como las rutinas prevalecientes en la producción, la distribución y el consumo.…”

Innovation System Performance: How to Address the Measurement of a System’s Performance

“…It should be noted also that not all inventions are patented (Audretsch, 2004:175;Becheikh et al, 2006:649-650;Fagerberg, Srholec & Verspagen, 2009:21;Greenhalgh & Rogers, 2010:61;and LeBel, 2008:338). The quality and quantity of patents registered varies widely across countries, perhaps due to cost restraints, as well as to the different procedures for patent registrations in different countries (Archibugi & Coco, 2005:183).…”

INTRODUCTION TO THE MACROECONOMIC DYNAMICS SPECIAL ISSUE ON TECHNOLOGY ASPECTS IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT

“…The role of technology in determining productivity differences between countries has been outlined by Prescott (1998), Hall and Jones (1999), Easterly andLevine (2001), andFagerberg et al (2010). In their study, Bresson, Etienne, and Mohnen evaluate the importance of technology, infrastructure, and institutions in explaining differences in TFP among 82 countries over the period 1990-2008.…”