A global knowledge economy?: Biopolitical strategies in India and the European Union

This article critiques the notion of a cross-national convergence of institutional and policy responses to science-based technologies. The continued significance of institutional legacies is demonstrated through a comparative analysis of strategies for the biopharma industry in two radically differe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of sociology (Melbourne, Vic.) Vic.), 2011-06, Vol.47 (2), p.163-180
Main Authors: Lofgren, Hans, Benner, Mats
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accession
Adoption of innovations
Biopharma industry
Biotechnology
Business innovation
Comparative analysis
Convergence
Drugs (Pharmaceuticals)
Economic development
Europe
Europe: Industries and resources
European integration
European Union
Globalisation
Globalization
India
India: Industries and resources
Industrial sociology
Information economy
Innovations
Intellectual property
International organizations
Knowledge
Knowledge economy
Legitimacy
Political development
Power
Property rights
R&D
Radicalism
Regulation
Research & development
Rhetoric
Samhällsvetenskap
Science and technology
Social Sciences
Sociologi
Sociologi (exklusive socialt arbete, socialpsykologi och socialantropologi)
Sociology
Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
Sociology of work
Sociology of work and sociology of organizations
Sustainability
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Description
Summary:This article critiques the notion of a cross-national convergence of institutional and policy responses to science-based technologies. The continued significance of institutional legacies is demonstrated through a comparative analysis of strategies for the biopharma industry in two radically different settings: India and the European Union (EU). Tensions are evident in both the EU ‘high’ route and the mixed strategy pursued in India. State promotion of biopharma is seen in India as a pathway to economic development, framed by a vision of India as a global power. Here, the ‘low’ route of cost advantages is combined with a ‘global’ rhetoric of innovation, modeled on US experience, and uneven forays into advanced R&D. The pursuit of product innovation was reinforced by India’s adoption of TRIPS-mandated intellectual property rights. In the EU, the aim is an integrated policy and regulatory approach to sustain and legitimize European integration, with the ultimate intent of overtaking the USA.
ISSN:1440-7833
1741-2978
DOI:10.1177/1440783310386832