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The Political Economy of R&D in a Global Financial Context

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Book cover Powerful Finance and Innovation Trends in a High-Risk Economy

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Abstract

Expenditure on research and development (R&D) forms the basis of incremental innovation for medium-to-large corporations in all advanced economies. Successful innovation out of R&D provides a high rate of return to the economy. This is because, although the vast majority of projects fail to materialize any tangible results, these failures contribute significantly to knowledge accumulation in the innovation process. However, the high risk and fundamental uncertainty arising out of R&D raise concerns about funding such activity. The new global financial system places this concern into a much sharper context.

I appreciate the generous support of the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies at Victoria University for Visiting Fellow status during the writing of this chapter. Thanks go to Phil O’Hara (Curtin University), Wifred Dolfsma (Erasmus University) and Paul Ramskogler (Vienna University of Economics) for their comments on earlier drafts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, University of Ballarat, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Jerry Courvisanos (Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship)

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  1. Jerry Courvisanos
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit on Industry and Innovation (Lab. RII), University of Littoral Côte d’Opale, France

    Blandine Laperche (Associate Professor, Research Director in Economics) & Dimitri Uzunidis (Director) (Associate Professor, Research Director in Economics) &  (Director)

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© 2008 Jerry Courvisanos

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Courvisanos, J. (2008). The Political Economy of R&D in a Global Financial Context. In: Laperche, B., Uzunidis, D. (eds) Powerful Finance and Innovation Trends in a High-Risk Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230584099_7

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