This work offers contributions from scholars from a range of different theoretical backgrounds which discuss why economies succeed or fail in creating the infrastructure, finance and technology to develop rapidly and catch up with others. The history of post-war catch-up/convergence is examined.

Several attempts have been made since the 1970s to collect key scholarly papers and document the progress of the field of innovation studies. The collection of papers included in this new title, most of which were published after the turn of the millennium, stands on the shoulders of these earlier volumes and seeks to provide a broad overview of recent progress in research on innovation and economic change. In their choice of papers, the editors address the characteristics of the field of innovation studies and its relationship to other areas of (social) science: innovation in firms; factors...

This authoritative and enlightening book focuses on fundamental questions such as what is innovation, who is it relevant for, what are the effects, and what is the role of (innovation) policy in supporting innovation-diffusion? The first two sections present a comprehensive overview of our current knowledge on the phenomenon and analyse how this knowledge (and the scholarly community underpinning it) has evolved towards its present stance. The third part explores the role of innovation for growth and development, while section four is concerned with the national innovation system and the role...