The paper investigates the mechanics through which novel technological principles are developed and diffused throughout an economy consisting of a technologically heterogeneous ensemble of firms. In the model entrepreneurs invest in the discovery and in the diffusion of a technological principle and their profit flow depends on how many firms adopt the innovation and on how long it takes other entrepreneurs to improve it. We show that technological convergence emerges from the competition among entrepreneurs for the profit flow and characterize the economy's growth rate.
Since the 1970s, we have witnessed unprecedented diff usion of digital technologies in both speed and geographic coverage. These technologies are pervasive and disruptive, and lead to profound shifts and transformations in societies and economies. Many claim that emerging network externalities are the principal phenomenon driving the process of technology diff usion and determining its in-time dynamics. This book analyzes the unique role network eff ects play in the process of digital technology diff usion. Using the time span of 1980–2022 and data from over 180 countries, the authors examines the strength and determinants of emerging network externalities in the process of digital technology diffusion across the world. Moreover, using international case studies it traces the process of technology convergence and technology convergence club formation, intending to answer whether cross-country gaps are diminishing or rather growing, and if countries form unique ‘clubs’ within which a rapid convergence occurs. Global Digital Technology Convergence is written for scholars and researchers in the fi elds of technology and innovation management, information and communication technology, economic development and the economics of innovation.
This open access book explores the role of innovation in technological convergence processes in the EU regional space and shifts the focus from absolute and conditional income convergence to technological convergence and its determinants. Presenting new theoretical and empirical evidence on the determinants and trajectory of the EU region’s development and convergence, this book will appeal to scholars of economics and regional science, as well as practitioners and policymakers interested in the policy implications of regional technological convergence. The presented findings will also contribute to the development of the knowledge-based economy paradigm in the regional context. This is an open access book.
Innovation Policy in a Global Economy concludes the successful sequence of books on Globalisation and Technology edited by Daniele Archibugi and Jonathan Michie, following Technology, Globalisation and Economic Performance (Cambridge University Press, 1997) and Trade, Growth and Technical Change (Cambridge University Press, 1998). This final volume argues that the opportunities offered by globalisation will only be fully realised by organisations which have developed institutions that allow for the transfer, absorption, and use of knowledge. Innovation Policy in a Global Economy is relevant for graduate and undergraduate courses in management and business, economics, geography, international political economy, and innovation and technology studies. Presenting original theoretical and empirical research by leading international experts in an accessible style, Innovation Policy will be vital reading for researchers and students and of use to public policy professionals.
We construct a model that combines elements of endogenous growth with the convergence implications of the neoclassical growth model. In the long run, the world growth rate is driven by discoveries in the technologically leading economies. Followers converge toward the leaders because copying is cheaper than innovation over some range. A tendency for copying costs to increase reduces followers' growth rate and thereby generates a pattern of conditional convergence. We discuss how countries are selected to be technological leaders, and we assess welfare implications. Poorly defined intellectual property rights imply that leaders have insufficient incentive to invent and followers have excessive incentive to copy.
Focuses on the changing roles and challenges of innovation and growth policy, and the strategies and measures that are critical in a globalizing world. This title provides guidance for innovation policy strategy formulations and design of innovation policy measures.
Innovation is the driving force behind economic growth. The knowledge that f- ters innovation builds on both systematic research and serendipity. The availability of new knowledge—be it technological or organizational (social)—is, however, - suf?cient. An institutional structure must be in place that enhances mutual learning among the actors involved and that stimulates cooperation, as well as competition. This recognition has inspired this volume, which focuses on national innovation s- tems and sectoral (technology) innovation systems that differ widely between co- tries, due to their diverse historical paths and distinctive cultural and societal f- tures. With regard to theory, most chapters incorporate a mix of endogenous growth theory and evolutionary thinking. Endogenous growth theory places an emphasis on the interplay between technological knowledge and various structural charact- istics of the economy and society, as well as on the results of economic growth. Concepts related to technology development, accumulation of knowledge on te- nology, and technology diffusion feature prominently here. In evolutionary thi- ing, and in particular coevolutionary thinking, the focus is on close links between technology and institutions, whereby the functionality of technology is in?uenced by certain dynamic interactions with institutional systems. Information technology turns out to be a clear example of such a development.
This Festschrift explores the truly exceptional breadth and depth of Paul David s work, focusing upon his contributions to the topics of path dependence, the economics of knowledge, and the diffusion of technology. The book consists of 15 papers plus an introduction by the editors and an entertaining postscript by Dominique Foray. . . For economic historians, the papers on path dependence assembled in this book, and particularly the conceptual paper by Antonelli, should be essential reading. Nikolaus Wolf, Economic History Review Recent research on the economics of innovation has acknowledged the importance of path dependence and networks in the evolution of economies and the diffusion of new techniques, products, and processes. These are topics pioneered by Paul A. David, one of the world s leading scholars in the economics of innovation. This outstanding collection provides a fitting tribute to the diversity and depth of Paul David s contributions. The papers included range from simulation models of the evolution of market structure in the presence of innovation, through historical investigations of knowledge networks and empirical analysis of contemporary networks, to the analysis of the diffusion of innovations using simulation and analytic models and of the diffusion of knowledge using patent data. With an emphasis on simulation models, data analysis, and historical evidence, this book will be required reading for researchers in innovation economics and regional development as well as economists, sociologists, and historians of innovation and intellectual property.
How important is foreign knowledge for domestic innovation outcomes? How is this relation shaped by globalization and the attendant intensification of international competition? Our empirical approach extends the previous literature by analyzing a large panel comprising industries in both advanced and emerging economies over the past two decades. We find that barriers to the domestic diffusion of foreign knowledge have fallen significantly for emerging economies. For all countries, and especially for emerging economies, inflows of foreign knowledge have a growing and quantitatively important impact on domestic innovation. Controlling for the amount of domestic R&D, we find evidence that increases in international competitive pressure at the industry level had a positive effect on domestic innovation outcomes
