Economics and Governance of Innovation and Institutions

Convenor: Dr Federica Rossi
Assessment: Exam (counts 75%), essay (counts 25%) to be submitted March 30th 2012.

Aims

The course encourages students to rethink how innovation and institutions in the economy should be governed and to understand the managerial and policy challenges this raises for businesses and public and private sector organizations. A key aim of the course is also to provide students with a better understanding of the economics of innovation and institutions, which can be applied to various contexts. Examples from the ICT sector, the new economy and new business perspectives will form a central part of the course.

Learning objectives

The objective of the course is to introduce a set of theoretical principles and essential ingredients that provide managers, business analysts, industrialists and policymakers with a variety of analytical tools and frameworks to understand the nature and dynamics of innovation. The course will have several guest lecturers from leading international policymaking organizations and academic institutions.

Content

Part I: The governance of innovation

• The governance of economic activity and innovation
• Understanding innovation processes: market structures and technological dynamics
• Business cycle behaviour and the emergence of the new technological, economic and organisational paradigms
• Institutions and innovation: a systemic perspective

Part II: Innovation and institutions

• Government regulation and innovation
• Universities, R&D and innovation
• Patents and innovation
• Copyright and innovation

Background reading

Useful books to browse as an introduction to this course are:

• Faberger, J., Mowery, D. and Nelson, R. (2006) The Oxford Handbook of Innovation, Oxford University Press
• Howells, John (2005). The Management of Innovation and Technology. London: Sage Publications

All core readings for the course will be downloadable via Blackboard.