State Innovation Policy and Narrative Economics

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify the features of the Russian innovation policy, its main directions and debatable issues. It is based on a review of narratives about the Russian innovation system in transcripts of the sessions of the State Duma. The methodological basis of the study is narrative economics according to Robert Shiller. We used methods of narrative economics and content analysis, a graphical method for displaying collected data. The empirical basis of the study is transcripts of the sessions of the State Duma. Transcripts of sessions can serve as a complement to such sources of narratives as publications in the media, books, interviews and focus groups that are traditionally used in narrative economics. Specific transcripts for the study were selected on the basis of the criterion purposeful sampling; the criterion was the presence of such phrases as “innovation system”, “innovative action”, “innovative enterprise”, “innovative products”, “innovative technologies”, “innovative economy”, “innovative activity”, “innovative policy”, “innovation implementation” and “innovation support” in the text of the transcripts. Transcripts that did not contain any of the specified phrases were excluded from the sample. The selected transcripts were analyzed in a manner similar to the PRISMA systematic literature review method. The article shows the dynamics of discussions of issues related to the Russian innovation system in the State Duma. Qualitative research methods are used for a more in-depth study of narratives in the transcripts. The task at this stage is to identify ideas about the Russian innovation system which are discussed and implemented in the field of legislation and public administration. The main features of public policy are illustrated with examples of narratives. As a result of the study, it is shown that the state policy pays great attention to the development of the Russian innovation system. At the same time, there are a number of debatable questions regarding the choice of optimal policy actions. In the narratives, assessments of the performance of the policy pursued in the past are also ambiguous.