Since Schumpeter, economists have argued that vast productivity gains can be achieved by investing in innovation and technological catch-up. Yet, as this volume documents, developing country firms and governments invest little to realize this potential, which dwarfs international aid flows. Using new data and original analytics, the authors uncover the key to this innovation paradox in the lack of complementary physical and human capital factors, particularly firm managerial capabilities, that are needed to reap the returns to innovation investments. Hence, countries need to rebalance policy away from R and D-centered initiatives – which are likely to fail in the absence of sophisticated private sector partners – toward building firm capabilities, and embrace an expanded concept of the National Innovation System that incorporates a broader range of market and systemic failures. The authors offer guidance on how to navigate the resulting innovation policy dilemma: as the need to redress these additional failures increases with distance from the frontier, government capabilities to formulate and implement the policy mix become weaker. This book is the first volume of the World Bank Productivity Project, which seeks to bring frontier thinking on the measurement and determinants of productivity to global policy makers.

The Innovation Paradox: Developing-Country Capabilities and the Unrealized Promise of Technological Catch-Up

Business & Money

Maloney, William F.

Cirera, Xavier

Economics

World Bank Publications

A new, innovation-led growth model would enable Argentina to increase economic stability and achieve stronger shared prosperity. Argentina can escape boom-and-bust cycles and accelerate its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic with an innovation-driven economy that, in addition to factor accumulation, fuels higher productivity growth across all its sectors. Such a growth model should build on Argentina's strengths in human capital, research, and firm-level capabilities, which would help diversify the economy and make it more inclusive and less susceptible to external shocks, providing the country with a stronger buffer at times of uncertainty. Despite the volatility of the past few decades, Argentina has been able to develop important pockets of success in high-end research and in frontier productive sectors such as biotechnology and knowledge economy. All of these should be better exploited and strengthened through public-private partnerships, targeted investments, and an enabling business environment to increase innovation's contribution to economic growth. A resilient economic recovery will, in part, require a long-term vision and a policy framework that builds a sustainable national innovation system. To contribute to the strengthening of such a national innovation system, this report reviews holistically the innovation performance in Argentina, identifies some of the main gaps and strengths, and discusses appropriate policy responses. The report also examines regional differences in innovation performance and reviews the policy effectiveness of recent initiatives that have focused on industry and science linkages and knowledge-based entrepreneurship. The lessons from these impact evaluations and findings of the comparative evaluation of Argentina's innovation landscape are intended to provide guidance in the design and strengthening of existing and future innovation policies in Argentina

Spurring Innovation-Led Growth in Argentina: Performance, Policy Response, and the Future (International Development in Focus)

Gurcanlar, Tugba

Criscuolo, Alberto

Gomez Gaviria, Daniel

Bridging the Technological Divide: Technology Adoption by Firms in Developing Countries

COMIN, DIEGO

Cruz, Marcio

Sponsored by the UK Department for International Development, this book deals directly with concerns that reform may have adverse effects on poverty in developing countries. The first part of the book recaps the current debates over trade policy and anti-poverty policy and the connections between them. The second part explores ten areas of trade policy that are likely to figure in future trade negotiations and examines the possible impact upon poverty in each case.     The authors argue that the poverty impact of trade liberalization is extremely country specific, being pro-poor in some cases and anti-poor in others. However, they believe that it is better to tackle poverty concerns directly (for example, by safety nets and investments to facilitate structural reform) rather than through the continuation of protectionist policies. Given the popular suspicions about trade liberalization, this handbook will make an important contribution to debate on globalization and poverty.

Trade Liberalization and Poverty: A Handbook

Winters, L. Alan

McCulloch, Neil

Center for Economic Policy Research

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Books by Cirera, Xavier