Innovation is the turning of ideas into concrete realities. To the extent that this process is an economic one, it must also be subject to political decisions, and these determine which ideas are to have resources made available for their in novation. This book attempts to trace the relationship between ideas, resources and politics. Chapter I deals with the way economic innovation depends both upon markets and upon interference with markets. Schumpeter taught us how market power is essential for innovation. This chapter stresses that the inverse is also true: Innovation can take place wherever there is market power. A most important corollary of this, is that failure to develop any particular type of market power, need not prevent innovation from happening. It will then take place under the protection of whatever market power there is, and it will be geographically located wherever that market power is effective. Chapter II identifies and seeks to fill a major gap in the literature on innova tion, by showing how important modern marketing has become for providing the conditions under which money may be rationally invested at high risk to get new things done. Marketing monopoly, or Persuasive market power, is now at least as important as the market power of Capability, or as the several types of Specific market power, in interference with market forces. It is therefore equally important for innovation.

Innovation in information and communication technology (ICT) fuels the growth of the global economy. How ICT markets evolve depends on politics and policy, and since the 1950s periodic overhauls of ICT policy have transformed competition and innovation. For example, in the 1980s and the 1990s a revolution in communication policy (the introduction of sweeping competition) also transformed the information market. Today, the diffusion of Internet, wireless, and broadband technology, growing modularity in the design of technologies, distributed computing infrastructures, and rapidly changing business models signal another shift. This pathbreaking examination of ICT from a political economy perspective argues that continued rapid innovation and economic growth require new approaches in global governance that will reconcile diverse interests and enable competition to flourish. The authors (two of whom were architects of international ICT policy reforms in the 1990s) discuss this crucial turning point in both theoretical and practical terms.

This book finds that the R&D and technological innovation of a country is not a result, but a factor, of sustained economic growth. Bazhal develops Schumpeter's theory to argue that genuine economic growth - especially in transitioning and developing countries - is only possible with innovation. With a particular focus on the work of Ukrainian economists, Tugan-Batanobvsky and Vernadsky, the text seeks to move the discipline forward and explain why innovation has become a primary factor of economic development in recent decades and why its role will become even more dominant in the future. Chapters interrogate whether modern economic theory can explain how we ensure the effective functioning of the market economy. The book shows that explanations of economists and politicians regarding the nature of the current economic and financial crisis, and the causes of huge gaps in levels of wealth in market economies, demonstrates that there are not enough satisfactory answers to this question.

Providing a critical overview of existing research and demonstrating the importance of a transdisciplinary framework for studies of innovation and entrepreneurship, this book advances a general concept of ‘collective entrepreneurship’ that emphasises the social and collaborative nature of innovation and entrepreneurship, thus shedding light on processes of innovation and entrepreneurship as active practices of social construction. As such, it will appeal to scholars of economic sociology, political science, economic geography and economists, as well as those with interests in innovation policy.

This book offers a general theoretical framework for approaching innovation and entrepreneurship, using practical and up-to-date examples to demonstrate three different levels of innovation and entrepreneurship: the macro-level, which concerns the impact of innovation activity on economic growth and production systems; the meso-level, which concerns the relations between firms, research institutes and governmental bodies and their role in innovation activity; and the micro-level, which concerns the dynamics of innovations within firms and organisations. Providing a critical overview of existing research and demonstrating the importance of a transdisciplinary framework for studies of innovation and entrepreneurship, the author advances a general concept of ’collective entrepreneurship’ that emphasises the social and collaborative nature of innovation and entrepreneurship, thus shedding light on processes of innovation and entrepreneurship as active practices of social construction. As such, it will appeal to scholars of economic sociology, political science, economic geography and economists, as well as those with interests in innovation policy.

This book describes and evaluates how institutional innovation and technological innovation have impacted on humanity from pre-historical times to modern times, and how societies have been transformed in history. The author interrogates the relationship between innovation and civilisation -– particularly the dynamic whereby innovation leads to empire-building -– and explores innovation efforts that stimulated economic and social synergies from the Babylonian Empire in 1900 BC up to the British Empire in the twentieth century. The author uses historical cross-cultural case studies to establish the factors which have given competitive advantages to societies and empires. This book will be of interest to researchers and students in political economy, economic history, economic growth and innovation economics.

Why are some countries better than others at science and technology (S&T)? Written in an approachable style, The Politics of Innovation provides readers from all backgrounds and levels of expertise a comprehensive introduction to the debates over national S&T competitiveness. It synthesizes over fifty years of theory and research on national innovation rates, bringing together the current political and economic wisdom, and latest findings, about how nations become S&T leaders. Many experts mistakenly believe that domestic institutions and policies determine national innovation rates. However, after decades of research, there is still no agreement on precisely how this happens, exactly which institutions matter, and little aggregate evidence has been produced to support any particular explanation. Yet, despite these problems, a core faith in a relationship between domestic institutions and national innovation rates remains widely held and little challenged. The Politics of Innovation confronts head-on this contradiction between theory, evidence, and the popularity of the institutions-innovation hypothesis. It presents extensive evidence to show that domestic institutions and policies do not determine innovation rates. Instead, it argues that social networks are as important as institutions in determining national innovation rates. The Politics of Innovation also introduces a new theory of "creative insecurity" which explains how institutions, policies, and networks are all subservient to politics. It argues that, ultimately, each country's balance of domestic rivalries vs. external threats, and the ensuing political fights, are what drive S&T competitiveness. In making its case, The Politics of Innovation draws upon statistical analysis and comparative case studies of the United States, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, Israel, Russia and a dozen countries across Western Europe.

This book finds that the R&D and technological innovation of a country is not a result, but a factor, of sustained economic growth. Bazhal develops Schumpeter's theory to argue that genuine economic growth - especially in transitioning and developing countries - is only possible with innovation. With a particular focus on the work of Ukrainian economists, Tugan-Batanobvsky and Vernadsky, the text seeks to move the discipline forward and explain why innovation has become a primary factor of economic development in recent decades and why its role will become even more dominant in the future. Chapters interrogate whether modern economic theory can explain how we ensure the effective functioning of the market economy. The book shows that explanations of economists and politicians regarding the nature of the current economic and financial crisis, and the causes of huge gaps in levels of wealth in market economies, demonstrates that there are not enough satisfactory answers to this question.

How Nations Innovate compares how affluent capitalist economies differ in their patterns of technological innovation. Building on the 'varieties of capitalism' literature, this book goes beyond the traditional focus on 'radical versus incremental innovation' in existing scholarship, and takes the comparison of capitalism to an entirely new set of questions around technological innovation. For example, which type of capitalism engages in job-threatening innovation? Whose innovation widens income inequality? Whose innovation raises productivity? Which type of capitalism has more effective financial markets for innovation? Whose innovators emphasize 'control' rather than 'flexibility' during innovation? By addressing these questions, the author demonstrates that the way nations innovate often has deep, and sometimes counter-intuitive, implications for how they compare in many areas of socio-economic performance. For example, although venture capital is most active in Anglo-Saxon economies, it seems that venture-capital performance in stimulating innovation is also poorest in precisely these countries. On the issue of employment, the author argues that, whilst technological innovation in Anglo-Saxon economies creates jobs, innovation in European economies destroys jobs. Nations also differ in the nature of income inequality driven by innovation. While innovation pushes top earners further ahead of median earners in Anglo-Saxon economies, it drags bottom earners further behind the median in European economies. Finally, varieties of capitalism also differ in their ability to cope with the volatilities of innovation. While Anglo-Saxon economies face a trade-off between low volatility and high innovation output, these two goals seem jointly achievable in European economies.