The solar photovoltaic sector is moving forward very fast, both in terms of its own technological advancement and its standing among global renewable energy technologies. Rapid increases in solar cell efficiencies, fast technical change in solar batteries and solar glass, and economies of scale in production fuel its rapid adoption, and it is becoming clear that existing forecasts about its adoption need to be updated extensively. This timely and distinctive examination of the economic side of the field takes into account solar PV’s recent and growing lead among renewable energies competing to replace fossil fuels.
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The Revolution in Energy Technology
Innovation and the Economics of the Solar Photovoltaic Industry
Xue Han and Jorge Niosi
The New Global Politics of Science
Knowledge, Markets and the State
Mats Benner
Science has become a central political concern with massive increases in public investments and expectations, but resources are embedded in a complex web of societal expectations, which vary between countries and regions. This book outlines an insightful understanding of science policy as both concerning the governance of science itself (priority-setting, funding, organization and articulation with polity, society, and economy) and its extra-organizational connections, in terms of higher education, innovation and national policy concerns.
Cities and Sustainable Technology Transitions
Leadership, Innovation and Adoption
Edited by Marina van Geenhuizen, J. Adam Holbrook and Mozhdeh Taheri
This enlightening book elucidates the leadership challenges of various cities in emerging transitions towards higher levels of sustainability. It examines elements of three socio-technical systems, energy, transport and healthcare, while addressing technology invention, commercialization, mass-production and adoption. The book breaks new ground in the analysis of topical issues such as local ‘cradle’ conditions, incentive schemes, niche-development, living labs, impact bonds, grass-roots intermediation and adaptive policy making. It offers a broad coverage of global systems of cities, with a particular focus on Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, China, Korea, Japan, the US and Canada.
Innovation, Economic Development and Policy
Selected Essays
Jan Fagerberg
This authoritative and enlightening book focuses on fundamental questions such as what is innovation, who is it relevant for, what are the effects, and what is the role of (innovation) policy in supporting innovation-diffusion? The first two sections present a comprehensive overview of our current knowledge on the phenomenon and analyse how this knowledge (and the scholarly community underpinning it) has evolved towards its present state. The third part explores the role of innovation for growth and development, while section four is concerned with the national innovation system and the role of (innovation) policy in influencing its dynamics and responding to the important challenges facing contemporary societies.
Edited by Harald Bathelt, Patrick Cohendet, Sebastian Henn and Laurent Simon
This unique Companion provides a comprehensive overview and critical evaluation of existing
conceptualizations and new developments in innovation research. It draws on multiple perspectives of
innovation, knowledge and creativity from economics, geography, history, management, political
science and sociology. The Companion brings together leading scholars to reflect upon innovation as
a concept (Part I), innovation and institutions (Part II), innovation and creativity (Part III),
innovation, networking and communities (Part IV), innovation in permanent spatial settings (Part V),
innovation in temporary, virtual and open settings (Part VI), innovation, entrepreneurship and
market making (Part VII), and the governance and management of innovation (Part VIII).
The Two Faces of Institutional Innovation
Promises and Limits of Democratic Participation in Latin America
Leonardo Avritzer
This book evaluates democratic innovations to allow a full analysis of the different practices that have emerged recently in Latin America. These innovations, often viewed in a positive light by a large section of democratic theorists, engendered the idea that all innovations are democratic and all democratic innovations are able to foster citizenship – a view challenged by this work. The book also evaluates the expansion of innovation to the field of judicial institutions. It will benefit democratic theorists by presenting a realistic analysis of the positive and negative aspects of democratic innovation.
Edited by Richard Hawkins, Knut Blind and Robert Page
Innovation and standardization might seem polar opposites, but over many years various scholars have noted close connections between the two. This Handbook assembles a broad range of thinking on this subject, with contributions from several disciplinary perspectives by over 30 leading scholars and experienced practitioners. Collectively, they summarize and synthesize the existing body of knowledge – theory and evidence – pertaining to standards and innovation, and provide insights into how this knowledge can be useful to scholars, industrial strategists, policy-makers and standards practitioners.
Geographies of Growth
Innovations, Networks and Collaborations
Edited by Charlie Karlsson, Martin Andersson and Lina Bjerke
Today we can observe an increasing spatial divide as some large urban regions and many more medium-sized and small regions face growing problems such as decreasing labour demand, increasing unemployment and an ageing population. In view of these trends, this book offers a better understanding of the general characteristics and specific drivers of the geographies of growth. It shows how these may vary in different spatial contexts, how hurdles and barriers to growth in different types of regions can be dealt with, how and to what extent resources in different areas can develop, and how the potential of these resources to stimulate growth can be realized.
Critical Studies of Innovation
Alternative Approaches to the Pro-Innovation Bias
Edited by Benoît Godin and Dominique Vinck
Different theories, models and narratives of innovation compete for both legitimacy and authority. However, despite the variations, they all offer a consistent pro-innovation bias, dismissing resistance as irrational, and overlooking the value of non-users and collateral impacts. This book looks at innovation from a different perspective and asks, what has been left out? It offers a reflexive view and invites researchers to consider new avenues of research, through a critique of current representations of innovation.
Research Handbook on Innovation Governance for Emerging Economies
Towards Better Models
Edited by Stefan Kuhlmann and Gonzalo Ordóñez-Matamoros
Although in recent years some emerging economies have improved their performance in terms of R & D investment, outputs and innovative capacity, these countries are still blighted by extreme poverty, inequality and social exclusion. Hence, emerging countries are exposed to conditions which differ quite substantially from the dominant OECD model of innovation policy for development and welfare. This Research Handbook contributes to the debate by looking at how innovation theory, policy and practice interact, and explains different types of configurations in countries that are characterized by two contrasting but mutually reinforcing features: systemic failure and resourcefulness. Focusing on innovation governance and public policies, it aims to understand related governance failures and to explore options for alternative, more efficient approaches.