How
Nations
Innovate
compares
how
affluent
capitalist
economies
differ
in
their
patterns
of
technological
innovation.
Building
on
the
'varieties
of
capitalism'
literature,
this
book
goes
beyond
the
traditional
focus
on
'radical
versus
incremental
innovation'
in
existing
scholarship,
and
takes
the
comparison
of
capitalism
to
an
entirely
new
set
of
questions
around
technological
innovation.
For
example,
which
type
of
capitalism
engages
in
job-threatening
innovation?
Whose
innovation
widens
income
inequality?
Whose
innovation
raises
productivity?
Which
type
of
capitalism
has
more
effective
financial
markets
for
innovation?
Whose
innovators
emphasize
'control'
rather
than
'flexibility'
during
innovation?
By
addressing
these
questions,
the
author
demonstrates
that
the
way
nations
innovate
often
has
deep,
and
sometimes
counter-intuitive,
implications
for
how
they
compare
in
many
areas
of
socio-economic
performance.
For
example,
although
venture
capital
is
most
active
in
Anglo-Saxon
economies,
it
seems
that
venture-capital
performance
in
stimulating
innovation
is
also
poorest
in
precisely
these
countries.
On
the
issue
of
employment,
the
author
argues
that,
whilst
technological
innovation
in
Anglo-Saxon
economies
creates
jobs,
innovation
in
European
economies
destroys
jobs.
Nations
also
differ
in
the
nature
of
income
inequality
driven
by
innovation.
While
innovation
pushes
top
earners
further
ahead
of
median
earners
in
Anglo-Saxon
economies,
it
drags
bottom
earners
further
behind
the
median
in
European
economies.
Finally,
varieties
of
capitalism
also
differ
in
their
ability
to
cope
with
the
volatilities
of
innovation.
While
Anglo-Saxon
economies
face
a
trade-off
between
low
volatility
and
high
innovation
output,
these
two
goals
seem
jointly
achievable
in
European
economies.
Friday, April 10, 2015