Innovation policy alternatives: lessons from the European countries

Abstract

Generally, there can be several alternatives of innovation policy. Pro-market ideology fully supports for market forces and innovation development lead by the market without any public intervention. However, through the history of technological development of several advanced countries radical shifts and changes took place with the active involvement of public sector in these processes. This evidence suggests that the innovation policy can have an active supportive role in the development of private initiatives with such common instruments as public financing of R&D activities, public procurements of technologies, etc. Another alternative is the traditional approach to innovation policy, which involves the adjustment of market failures. This approach has been often criticized recently, for example, by Adquist (5, 2008), as innovations are of evolutionary character and it is not always possible to define what is the optimal condition and where the market fails. Many researchers and policy makers support for the systemic approach in innovation policy. Within this alternative identification of systemic problems and their resolution is based on the empirical analyses and comparison of different innovation systems with each other.