The Evaluation of Government Policies for Innovation

Abstract

Government policies for the promotion of technological innovation are ubiquitous. Whether one is dealing with developing or developed countries, with governments of the left or the right, with industrial magnates or entrepreneurs who run small firms, all acknowledge both the importance of technological innovation for their survival and the crucial role played by government in supporting it. The reason for this is simple enough: any nation, government or firm depends upon a continual flow of new technology to maintain or improve its situation. As a consequence there has been, since the end of the Second World War, a virtual explosion of government incentives, subsidies and programmes aimed at stimulating one or another aspect of the innovation process. The number and range of these policies have become so bewildering that recently several attempts have been made to classify them and bring some order to an increasingly complex situation. One recent example has been provided by Rothwell and Zegveld (refer to Chapter 2).