Knowledge is becoming increasingly important in contemporary economic systems, and economic growth and welfare depends on how promptly economic agents are able to exploit the benefits derived from technological innovations. In a landscape characterized by globalization, the contributors to this volume offer a new perspective on the transformation undertaken by firms, universities, and other agents. They urge for a wider involvement of public policies to foster learning and innovation.

This volume analyses some of the major and current trends and challenges in the "new economy" from the point of view of technical innovation and competence building.It brings together the leading European expertise on different topics in this field.The contributors to this volume share the belief that knowledge is a fundamental component of economic growth and welfare. However, the ways in which knowledge is transmited and distributed among economic agents requires shaping by public policies.The individual chapters report on the most significant policies adopted and asses them in the light of...

This book brings together the leading academics in the fields of innovation and technology. It describes and analyzes current processes of technological globalization, the behavior of transnational corporations, and what governments can do to enhance their economy's innovative performance and competitive advantage. It reports the latest research and discusses in an accessible way the policy implications for government and others. The book contains newly-reported empirical work relating to Europe, North America, Japan and developing countries.

Innovation and globalization are changing the nature of economic life. This book argues that the transfer and use of knowledge requires the development of appropriate institutional infrastructures. The opportunities offered by globalization will only be fully realized by actively pursuing policies to enhance the absorption and development of knowledge. The book is relevant for courses in management and business, economics, geography, international political economy, and innovation and technology studies. It will be of interest to all concerned with public policy toward the economy.

Innovation and globalization are changing the nature of economic life. This book argues that the transfer and use of knowledge requires the development of appropriate institutional infrastructures. The opportunities offered by globalization will only be fully realized by actively pursuing policies to enhance the absorption and development of knowledge. The book is relevant for courses in management and business, economics, geography, international political economy, and innovation and technology studies. It will be of interest to all concerned with public policy toward the economy.

Cosmopolitics, the concept of a world politics based on shared democratic values, is in an increasingly fragile state. While Western democracies insist ever more vehemently upon a maintenance of their privileges--freedom of speech, security, wealth--an increasing number of the world's inhabitants are under threat of poverty, famine and war.
What is needed, the writers suggest, is a deliberate decision to extend the principles and values of democracy to the sphere of international relations. Recent experience does not bode well, but their arguments, which range from reform of the United...

This text explores the changing meaning of political community in a world of regional and global, social and economic relations. It reconsiders some of the key terms of political organization, such as legitimacy, sovereignty, identity and citizenship, in order to guage what democracy means today and how it can be reconceptualized to include subnational as well as transnational levels of political organization.

The form of international regulation which dominated world politics for more than forty years has collapsed, while no alternative has yet emerged. The end of the Cold War has created new opportunities for developing an international order based upon the principles of legality and democracy. But if these opportunities are not seized, there is the danger that force will again prevail in the settings of international politics, both within Europe and beyond.


The contributors to this volume offer an analysis of the contemporary conjuncture in international politics and present...

This title looks at the effects of the economic crisis on the innovation behaviours of firms and asks whether the crisis is a typical manifestation of the inherent instability of the capitalism system due to the very nature of technological change. This book can be regarded as a complementary reading for those interested in the effect of the crisis with a particular focus on Europe.

Advanced countries have shown an increasing convergence in their economic performance and technological intensity, with a relative decline of the position of the United States and the emergence of the European and Japanese economies. The Technological Specialization of Advanced Countries moves beyond aggregate patterns and examines the sectoral structure of technological activities, the process of specialization, and the impact on national performance.
Indicators of technology and of scientific activity are examined together with other economic and R & D data,...