Bioethanol and Technological Innovation Systems. A comparative analysis between the U.S. and Brazil

Abstract

This paper uses the functions of technological systems of innovation to compare the evolution of bioethanol for the transportation sector between the U.S. and Brazil. It argues that differences in how functions of innovation operate within each system can explain different performances of bioethanol development over time. Despite the economic crisis of the 1980s, Brazil's strong strategic guidance on research led the ethanol innovation system to reach a virtuous cycle of development. The weak strategic guidance in research towards biofuels in the U.S., especially during the 1980s broke the ongoing ethanol innovation cycle of development, preventing the country to become the world technological leader in the production of bioethanol.