INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION POLICY FOR THE U.S.; AN OVERVIEW OF THE ISSUES

• Published in: Policy studies review 1984-05, Vol.3 (3), p.436-444
• Main Authors: Rothwell, R, Zegveld, W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ALL OR MOST INDUSTRY; CREATIVE PROCESSES; POLITICAL SYSTEM AS A WHOLE; PUBLIC POLICY; RELATIONS BETWEEN OR AMONG BRANCHES OR DEPARTMENTS OF THE SAME GOVERNMENT; STRATEGY; TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT; UNITED STATES, 1945 TO PRESENT
• ISSN: 0278-4416

WHY A SYMPOSIUM ISSUE ON INNOVATION POLICY? THE ANSWER RESTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONSHIPS AMONG GOVERNMENT ACTION, TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN INDUSTRY AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, AND ON NEWLY EMERGING, UNEXPLORED ISSUES INVOLVING THESE RELATIONSHIPS.1 DECLINING PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH RATES AND REDUCED INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF SOME U.S. INDUSTRIES RECENTLY HAVE FOCUSED THE ATTENTION OF POLICYMAKERS AND RESEARCHERS ON THESE RELATIONSHIPS. SPEAKING PRIMARILY FROM BUSINESS SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS HAVE DIAGNOSED THE ILLS THAT APPEARS TO BESET US; SOME CALL FOR A LARGER "STRATEGIC" ELEMENT IN THE FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF U.S. INDUSTRIES, WHILE OTHERS CALL FOR IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXISTING POLICIES. WE KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE OVERALL EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT POLICIES ON INDUSTRIAL PERFORMANCE AND INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION BUT RELATIVELY LITTLE ABOUT THE WAYS U.S. POLICYMAKING PROCESSES AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS IMPROVE OR INTRODUCE GREATER COORDINATION INTO THOSE POLICIES. SIMILARLY, WE KNOW RELATIVELY LITTLE ABOUT HOW TO EVALUATE SPECIFIC, INNOVATION-RELATED PROGRAMS AND POLICIES, OR HOW TO TRANSLATE THE FINDINGS OF EXISTING STUDIES INTO PERSUASIVE PRESCRIPTIONS FOR GOVERNMENT ACTION. THE ARTICLES IN THIS VOLUME ADDRESS THESE GAPS.