RISC- FIRB
Title
Research and entrepreneurship in the knowledge-based economy: the effects on the competitiveness of Italy in the European Union.
(RISC: Ricerca e Imprenditorialità nella Società della Conoscenza)
Assignment
MIUR: Italian Ministry for Education, Universities and Research
Keywords
Research
Human Capital
Knowledge-based Economy
Evaluation
Public Policy
Entrepreneurship
Research outline
The project aims at answering the following questions:
1. Which investments in research and human capital are required to catch the opportunities and challenges proposed by the new knowledge-based economy?
2. What kind of effects can be expected in the short and medium run, at the firm, sectoral and country levels?
3. How can we evaluate their effect? Which indicators can be used?
4. Which structural transformations and changes at the firm, sectoral and country level are needed to increase such investments' returns?
5. Finally, what kind of scientific, educational, technological and industrial policies have to be adopted within the context of the knowledge-based economy?
The objectives of the research are linked to the belief that in a knowledge-based, globalized economy, the short and medium run effects of investment in research and human capital, in terms of innovation, international performance, economic growth and welfare, have to be analysed according to several, interrelated dimensions:
a) the coherence in the dimensions, characteristics and strategies regarding research and human capital with respect to the specificities of the knowledge-based economy;
b) the spread and the intensity of diffusion of new ideas, innovations, and products among firms;
c) the links and integration of the investments in research and human capital with the international research system and with the national and local contexts;
d) the short and medium term effects of such investments on the innovative dynamics of firms and sectors;
e) the ability of structural adaptation of the economic system to the changes in the environment, where a fundamental element is the creation and development of knowledge-based entrepreneurship;
f) the interaction and convergence of public and private actors involved in innovation and change, given their different roles and functions;
The expected results and the value added of the research concern the interrelated and integrated comprehension of all these dimensions, from the micro-firm, to the meso-sectoral, to the macro-country dimensions; and their analysis at the conceptual, empirical and theoretical levels. The aim is to evaluate in a coherent and complete way the importance and the short and medium term effects of the investments in research and human capital in the knowledge-based economy for firms, sectors and the country as a whole. Finally, a further objective of the research consists in using the results of the project to propose new policy actions.
The research is divided in four Parts and eleven Research Activities. Part I regards the micro-firm level. It focuses on the characteristics of investments in research and human capital in the knowledge-based economy and their short and medium term impact at the firm level. Part II moves from the micro to the meso-sectoral level. It analyses the short and medium term impact of the investments in research and human capital on the dynamics and evolution of key sectors. Part III is at the macro-country level. It regards the short and medium term impact of investments in research and human capital on the international competitiveness of Italy and the structural transformation of the Italian economy. Finally, in Part IV the project draws the main conclusions from the research done in Parts I, II and III by focussing on the links between the micro, the meso and the macro level, proposes new evaluation criteria for the effectiveness of investments in research and human capital in the knowledge base economy and advances new public policy indications.
More precisely, the activities are the followings:
(A1) THE NEW FEATURES OF RESEARCH AND HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY.
(A2) THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INVESTMENTS IN INTERNAL RESEARCH AND LEARNING AND INVESTMENTS IN THE ACQUISITION OF EXTERNAL KNOWLEDGE.
(A3) INVESTMENTS IN RESEARCH AND THEIR IMPACT ON FIRMS' COMPETITIVENESS: INTANGIBLE ASSETS, KNOWLEDGE BASE, INNOVATIVENESS AND COMPETITIVE POSITION.
(A4) KNOWLEDGE-BASED ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A FALL-OUT OF INVESTMENTS IN RESEARCH AND HUMAN CAPITAL AND AS A CRITICAL ASPECT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE IN THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM.
(A5) THE IMPACT OF INVESTMENTS IN RESEARCH AND HUMAN CAPITAL AT A SECTORAL LEVEL: TELECOMMUNICATIONS-NETWORK SERVICES AND PHARMACEUTICALS-BIOTECHNOLOGY.
(A6) ECONOMETRIC ANALYSES OF INVESTMENTS IN RESEARCH AND INNOVATIVE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AT THE FIRM AND SECTORAL LEVELS.
(A7) HISTORY-FRIENDLY MODELS OF INDUSTRIAL DYNAMICS FOR EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF INVESTMENTS IN RESEARCH AND HUMAN CAPITAL: ICT AND PHARMACEUTICALS-BIOTECHNOLOGY.
(A8) THE RELEVANT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ITALIAN NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM IN THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY: WEAKNESSES AND STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS.
(A9) THE INTERNATIONAL POSITION OF ITALY IN HIGH-TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES.
(A10) THE EFFECTS OF THE PRODUCTION AND DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE STRUCTURAL CHANGE AND SECTORAL GROWTH OF THE ITALIAN ECONOMY IN AN INTERNATIONAL SETTING.
(A11) CONCLUSIONS: FROM MICRO TO MESA TO MACRO LEVEL, NEW EVALUATION CRITERIA AND PUBLIC POLICY IMPLICATIONS.
Reasearchers involved in the project (contacts)
Franco Malerba, Christian Garavaglia, Maria Luisa Mancusi
Partners
Cespri - Bocconi University
Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering (DIG) of Politecnico of Milan
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Brescia
Urbino University
CNR
Pavia University
Last updated May 05, 2009
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