Institutions, Innovation and Learning
Course for IDARI, Summer 2003
Mark Tomlinson
Course outline and reading lists
Synopsis:
A range of questions and readings will be provided in advance for the students to discuss
at the sessions. There will not be a formal lecture as such, but rather the students will be
expected to read the material and discuss it between themselves and with the tutor. The
aim is to give the students a toolbox of concepts and alternative approaches to
institutions, learning and innovation that they may find useful for their PhD work. It is
also intended that the discussions will help to develop the students’ critical faculties and
introduce them to the kinds of debates that take place in innovation studies. It is up to the
individual student and their supervisor(s) to come to an agreement about which
approaches and methodologies they will ultimately employ.
General readings:
These should be seen as good general summaries and key overall texts for the course.
Coombs, Saviotti and Walsh 1987
Freeman and Soete 1997
Dosi et al. 1988
Lundvall 1992
OECD 1992
Nelson and Winter 1982
Session 1 – Introduction to innovationsystems
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What is innovation?
Evolutionary approaches to the economics of innovation
Learning, routines and knowledge
What is a National System of Innovation?
Reading list:
Lundvall 1992 Chapter 1
Session 2 – Institutions
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What do we mean by institutions?
Innovation systems and institutions
Reading list:
Lundvall 1992 Chapter 2
Session 3 – User-producer interaction and innovation
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How an analysis of user-producer interaction in production can
lead to an understanding of the innovation process
Reading list:
Lundvall 1992 chapter 3
Session 4 – Comparing systems of innovation
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What are the key institutional differences between systems?
A comparison of the Danish and Swedish system of innovation
Edquist, C. and B.-Å. Lundvall (1993), ‘Comparing Danish and Swedish systems of
innovation’, in R. Nelson (ed.), National Innovation Systems – A Comparative Analysis,
New York, Oxford University Press.
Session 5 – Incorporating other institutions into the study of innovation
Some examples using labour markets and services
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Labour markets and job mobility
The role of the service sector in innovation
Tomlinson, M. (1999), ‘The learning economy and embodied knowledge flows in Great
Britain’, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Vol.9, No.4, pp.431-451.
Windrum, P. and Tomlinson, M. (1999), ‘Knowledge-intensive services and international
competitiveness: a four country comparison’, Technology Analysis and Strategic
Management, Vol.11, No.3, pp.391-408.
Tomlinson, M. (2000), ‘The contribution of services to the manufacturing industry’, in
Andersen, B., Howells, J., Hull, R., Miles, I. And Roberts, J. (eds.), Knowledge and
innovation in the new service economy, pp.36-48, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Tomlinson, M. (2002), ‘Measuring competence and knowledge using employee surveys:
Evidence using the British Skills Survey of 1997’, CRIC Discussion Paper No. 50,
University of Manchester and UMIST.
Tomlinson, M. and Ndhlovu, T. (2002), ‘Do services matter for African economic
development: An empirical exploration’, CRIC Discussion Paper No.49, University of
Manchester and UMIST.
Bibliography and further reading:
Coombs, R., Saviotti, P., Walsh, V., 1987, Economics and technological change.
Macmillan.
Dosi, G., Freeman, C., Nelson, R., Silverberg, G, Soete, L. (eds.), 1988, Technical
change and economic theory. Pinter.
Freeman, C., Soete, L.,1997, The economics of industrial innovation. Pinter.
Lundvall, B.-A., (ed.), 1992, National systems of innovation. Pinter.
Nelson, R., (ed.), 1993, National innovation systems. Oxford University Press.
Nelson, R., Winter, S., 1982, An evolutionary theory of economic change. Harvard
university Press.
OECD, 1992, Technology and the economy: the key relationships. Paris: OECD.
OECD, 2002, Innovative people. Paris: OECD.
Tomlinson, M. 1999, ‘The learning economy and embodied knowledge flows in Great
Britain’, Journal of Evolutionary Economics.
Tomlinson, M. 2000, ‘A new role for business services in economic growth’, in
Archibugi, D. and Lundvall, B-A., (eds.) The globalizing learning economy. Oxford
University Press.
Tomlinson, M. (1999), ‘The learning economy and embodied knowledge flows in Great
Britain’, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Vol.9, No.4, pp.431-451.
Tomlinson, M. (2000), ‘The contribution of services to the manufacturing industry’, in
Andersen, B., Howells, J., Hull, R., Miles, I. And Roberts, J. (eds.), Knowledge and
innovation in the new service economy, pp.36-48, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Tomlinson, M. (2002), ‘Measuring competence and knowledge using employee surveys:
Evidence using the British Skills Survey of 1997’, CRIC Discussion Paper No. 50,
University of Manchester and UMIST.
Tomlinson, M. and Ndhlovu, T. (2002), ‘Do services matter for African economic
development: An empirical exploration’, CRIC Discussion Paper No.49, University of
Manchester and UMIST.
Windrum, P. and Tomlinson, M. (1999), ‘Knowledge-intensive services and international
competitiveness: a four country comparison’, Technology Analysis and Strategic
Management, Vol.11, No.3, pp.391-408.