Why should governments of developing countries invest in R&D and innovation?

摘要

The rationales for public investment in R&D and innovation have evolved over time from an initialemphasis on market failures amongst neoclassical economists towards a broader view based on asystemic characterization of innovation amongst evolutionary economists. More recently, a renewedemphasis has been placed on the critical role of innovation to address social challenges and overcomedevelopment traps. The purpose of this article is to summarize the different rationales for publicinvestments in R&D and innovation in developing countries, with the aim of providing clear argumentsto better advocate for the continuation and expansion of such investments in front of an audience thathas to prioritize among multiple competing development agendas in the context of financingconstraints, including budget allocators, high-level policymakers and the civil society at large