Building National and Regional Innovation Systems: Institutions for Economic Development

Following the demise of the Washington Consensus, developing countries are looking for new ideas to guide their development. This innovative book suggests taking seriously some of the findings of evolutionary economics and paying specific attention to the institutions that matter for economic development, particularly those related to science, technology and innovation. The author highlights how the institutional framework that will allow countries to grow should include universities, government laboratories and policy incentives for human capital and business research and development. He argues that there are no simple policies and no 'one-size-fits-all' solutions, and that the majority of developing countries have not yet found the right combinations of institutions. The book suggests that building successful national and regional innovation systems requires at least one generation of continuous effort, significant trial and error, and a thorough knowledge of the experiences of the OECD countries that built those institutions in the past. It moves on to demonstrate how certain countries such as Canada, Finland and Singapore have succeeded in catching-up and how several others, for example Argentina, Egypt, Mexico and the Philippines, have failed. It then pinpoints the main industrial, science, technology and innovation policies required by developing countries to achieve their goals. This unique and timely book will appeal to postgraduate students of international economics, international business and development economics, as well as students of science, technology and society.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface 1. Convergence, Catching Up, Institutions, and Growth 2. Systems of Innovation and Economic Development 3. Industrial and Technology Policy 4. Building Blocks of Innovation 5. Building Systems of Innovation: Three Phases and Three Cases 6. Developing Countries: Four Cases 7. Regional Systems of Innovation: Four Cases Conclusion: Putting it Together References Index

About the Author :
Jorge Niosi, Professor Emeritus, Department of Management and Technology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

Review :
’The era of the Washington consensus, where the basic advice to developing countries was simply to let markets emerge and not to interfere with their operations, now is gone, at least for the present. The challenge now is to articulate a broad development strategy that really works. Over the last decade a group of economists has been putting together a body of knowledge and analysis oriented to helping poor countries build the economic, organizational, technological, and scientific capabilities that they need in order to develop. Jorge Niosi is an important member of that group. And this book provides an excellent discussion of the emerging perspective on development strategy.’ ’[T]his book is a valuable addition to the body of knowledge on the mechanics of innovation systems, technological catch-up and economic development. It comes across as historically rich, theoretically sound and surprisingly accessible. Academics, students and policy-makers who are interested in these topics will find the book appealing particularly because of its very clear message.’ ’The book by Jorge Niosi, Building National and Regional Innovation Systems is a welcome and timely contribution to the literature. The book is about how to promote science, technology and innovation for development and catching up in developing countries. Niosi presents a clear opinion of how countries should stimulate catching up. . . This book is highly recommendable to students, researchers and policy-makers. It is commendable more for its clearly stated and thought-provoking messages than for its empirical examples. I found that the examples are used more to demonstrate the correctness of Niosi's arguments than to critically investigate their relevance.’