Regional innovation systems in emerging economies: evidence of system failures for innovation

There remain several unexplored questions in relation to the analysis of regional innovation systems (RISs). This is the case, for example, about the nature of some types of system failures that avoid developing innovations in regional economies. In this case, system failures may hinder the operation and development of innovation systems as a whole, and thus opening up the possibility of a new policy rationale that replaces the neoclassical market failure concept. The objective of this paper is to discuss the role that might be played by science, technology and innovation (STI) policy when some types of system failures appear. Particularly, the possibility of finding these failures in emerging economies is evaluated as a consequence of immature innovation systems characterising these countries. In this paper, the case of the province of Michoacan in Mexico is evaluated.