Fall/Winter Timetable

POL408H1F L0101

Graduate Course Code: POL2338H1F L0101

Innovation and Governance

Themes

The course focuses on a broad range of topics related to innovation and governance, such as (i) technological change and its social and economic consequences, (ii) the spatial effects which result from this, and (iii) the necessities for economic policies at different territorial levels. Since the international competitiveness of industrialized economies cannot be based on cost advantages alone, future growth in the knowledge-based economy will be increasingly associated with capabilities related to creativity, knowledge generation and innovation. As a consequence, questions of performance in innovation and policy support become decisive at the firm level, and at the regional and national scales. The first part of the course deals with conceptual foundations of innovation processes, such as evolutionary and institutional views of innovation. In the second part, national configurations of innovation processes are investigated. The third part deals with innovation at the subnational level, focusing on regional clustering, institution building, multilevel governance, and regionalized innovation systems

Texts

Bathelt, H., Cohendet, P., Henn, S. and Simon, L. (Eds.) (2017): The Elgar Companion to Innovation and Knowledge Creation. Cheltenham, Northampton (MA): Edward Elgar; and a course reader

Format and Requirements

One two-hour seminar per week. The seminar work consists of the following components: a research proposal, seminar presentations, a research paper and class participation.

Prerequisites

ECO360Y1 or HPS201H1 or HPS202H1 or POL203Y1 or POL203Y5 or POL207Y1 or POL208Y1 or POL208Y5 or (POLB80H3 and POLB81H3) or POL215Y1 or POL224Y1 or POL302Y5 or SOC317Y1 or SOC356Y1