Technological infrastructure and international competitiveness

By C. Freeman. 2004

332 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The paper is probably the first written paper using the concept of 'the national innovation system' and it analyses how technological infrastructure differs between countries and how such differences are reflected in international competitiveness. It makes a critical review of new (in the 1980s) developments in the theory of international trade and confronts them with recent empirical results. It shows how competitiveness cannot be explained by wage rates-prices-currency rates. Technological leadership gives absolute rather than comparative advantage and technological leadership will reflect institutions supporting coupling, creating, clustering comprehending and coping in connection with technology. The analysis is rooted in historical context through references to Friedrich List and his criticism of Adam Smith and laissez-faire. Special emphasis is put on List's concept of mental capital. Finally, the analytical arguments are illustrated by the catching-up and forging ahead of first Germany and later Japan. The paper concludes that disequilibria in international trade will be persistent and that for laggard economy the free trade doctrine may be unduly restrictive. Another conclusion is that public investment in technological infrastructure and intellectual capital is crucial for successful economic development. It is pointed out that there is a need to couple education, science, trade and industry policy in order to build competitiveness. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Subfields: Economics and Econometrics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/616c37b605507530b4b450c078dc2d78fe37d223

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Citations in the corpus

Smart specialisation, innovation policy and regional innovation systems: what about new path development in less innovative regions? (2018, background): “that competition was based on a country’s innovativeness (Freeman 2004).”
Perception of competitiveness in the context of sustainable development: Facets of “sustainable competitiveness” (2010, background): “Freeman (2004) made a critical review of the developments in the theory of international trade and showed how competitiveness cannot be explained by wage rates, prices and currency rates.”
Sustainable innovation, business models and economic performance: an overview (2013, background): “For decades it was known that innovation plays a role in the international competitiveness of nations (Freeman, 1987, 2004).”
National innovation systems and the intermediary role of industry associations in building institutional capacities for innovation in developing countries: a critical review of the literature (2015, background): “Derived in part from the ideas of List (1841) and his concept of national systems of production, the NIS concept was first proposed by Freeman (1982, 1987) as a response to the Washington consensus and to the neoclassical approaches to growth.”
The dynamics of national innovation systems: a panel cointegration analysis of the coevolution between innovative capability and absorptive capacity (2011, background): “A greater level and quality of infrastructures increases the country’s capability to absorb, adopt and implement foreign advanced technologies (Esfahani and Ramirez, 2003; Freeman, 2004; Castellacci, 2011).”
The dynamics of national innovation systems: A panel cointegration analysis of the coevolution between innovative capability and absorptive capacity (2013, background): “A greater level and quality of infrastructures increases the country’s capability to absorb, adopt and implement foreign advanced technologies (Esfahani and Ramirez, 2003; Freeman, 2004; Castellacci, 2011).”
Internationalization of innovation systems: A survey of the literature ☆ (2006, methodology): “According to Lundvall 2003), Freeman (1982)first used the term ‘nation ystem of innovation’ in an unpublished paper. dea was picked up by several scholars in both Eu nd the United States networking with Freeman is colleagues at SPRU.”
Intellectual capital: An empirical study of ITRI (2006, background): “Public investment in technological infrastructure and intellectual capital is crucial for a successful economic development [11].”
National Systems of Innovation: Post Script: Innovation System Research – Where It Came From and Where It Might Go (2010, background): “‘national system of innovation’ ( Freeman 1982 /2004).”
Twenty challenges to innovation studies (2015, background): “However, it finally appeared in print 20 years later in Industrial and Corporate Change (Freeman, 2004).”