Something in the air

Article Abstract:

The US has moved ahead in terms of technological development, according to the Council on Competitiveness. US productivity growth has increased since 1992, and 15 million new jobs have been created since 1991. Deregulation is one government policy that can help foster innovation and this is seen in the telecoms, entertainment and computer, which are coming together. Tax cuts can help innovation in the early stages, though efficient firms may not need them. A strong service sector also appears to be important in benefiting from new changes in industry called the fifth wave of innovation.

United States, Deregulation

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Catch the wave

Article Abstract:

Economists have sought to understand how and why increases in productivity occur, and technological progress can help explain this. Joseph Schumpeter was an economist who examined the role of innovation in his work on creative destruction. Nikolai Kondratieff noted that there are long cycles of economic activity which are linked to innovations. Schumpeter called long cycles new industrial revolutions, and a fifth such revolution, based on software, genetics, fiber optics and semiconductors is in progress.

Economics, Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities, Analysis, Long waves (Economics), Kondratieff cycles

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Networks, not pipelines

Article Abstract:

Innovations tend to take off through a complex network rather than through pipelines. Innovation has been aided in the US through the Baigh Dole Act and the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Act, which allow bodies such as research institutes to retain technologies discovered in work under government contract, and allow technology to come out of national labs. Corporate research spending varies widely from one country to another and tends to produce young people possessing skills needed in industry.

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