In its continuing quest for competitiveness in world markets, the EU has recently moved away from a technology policy towards an innovation policy. In other words, from a strategy almost entirely focused on supporting collaborative alliances, the EU now has a broader policy vision which aims to engender a positive institutional environment for European innovators. This fresh policy direction has forced the EU to take a novel approach to understanding the relationship between public action and the innovation process at both the national and European level.

Adopting a strong interdisciplinary approach, the author skilfully examines the politics and economics of the new innovation policy of the EU, addressing such diverse topics as research and knowledge production, the changing regime of intellectual property rights, building the information society, standard setting, risk assessment and the social sustainability of innovation. The conclusions pose many theoretical questions which will require further research, most notably the extent to which EU innovation policy underpins a European system of innovation.

This book will be an invaluable source of reference for academics and researchers interested in the economics of innovation, EU political economy, science, technology and politics. It will also help policy makers to understand the complex interactions between regional, national and supranational innovation policy.

About the Author
Susana Borras, Professor of Innovation and Governance, Head of Department of Business and Politic, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Reviews
'This book is original in its perspective as well as in its coverage of issues. The author has a good grip both on the political and economic aspects of innovation policy, which makes it possible for her to draw out the crucial dilemmas for European policymakers, as well as the difficulties in finding easy solutions to these dilemmas. She covers different fields that are normally not treated in one common context such as knowledge creation, intellectual property rights, the information society, standard setting and risk assessment. The truly interdisciplinary approach and the broad coverage make this volume quite unique.' -- Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Aalborg University, Denmark
'This book reveals common patterns of change as many, seemingly unrelated, areas of innovation policy are increasingly conducted at the European level. The multi-disciplinary approach allows the subject matter to be analysed with subtlety and depth, and the result will appeal to specialists and generalists alike. This represents a major contribution to the innovation policy literature that combines analytical insight with empirical depth.' -- Paul Nightingale, University of Sussex, UK



Book Information
ISBN 9781840649932
Author Susana Borras
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd