Innovation Policy

Abstract

This chapter develops the core of the argument regarding the specific assumptions and theoretical propositions about the role and limits of innovation policy. The theoretical basis for the holistic approach to innovation policy proposed in this book is built from a broad version of the systems of innovation approach and the identification of the concrete policy problems that afflict the innovation system, including the unintended consequences of policy. Following from that, the chapter argues that most innovation policies across countries are still partial, not holistic; that innovation policy must be separated from research policy; and that innovation policy-learning can only take place using an analytical model that helps understanding what worked, how, and why.