Economics of innovation: introduction

This course is an introduction to the economics of innovation. It discusses the incentives and consequences of innovation activities to develop new (sustainable) products and services.

The course uses the view of the innovation system, emphasizing that firms do not operate in isolation but are influenced by their external environment, including suppliers, users, government, universities, and even more stakeholders. This includes the analysis of all the actors in the innovation system, considering also the sectoral and the national level.

The course will cover the following topics:

• Fundamental definitions and key economic concepts related to innovation.
• The critical role of innovation in driving both economic growth and sustainability
• The role of firms and markets: issues related to competition and innovation in markets
• Intellectual Property Rights: basics of what IPR systems, their economic function and how IPRs are used to protect innovation by firms
• Recognizing innovation: recognizing different types of innovation and measuring them with quantitative indicators
• Innovation systems: basics of the concept of national innovation systems
• the diffusion of innovation
• Innovation Policy

After completion of the course, the student:

• Has knowledge of and insight into the core concepts, theoretical frameworks and methodologies of the economics of innovation.
• Understands the main economic concepts that describe the innovation process
• Understands the key economic aspects of sustainable innovation processes
• Is able to apply innovation theories to interpret differences in innovation patterns across firms, sectors and countries
• Is able to identify indicators to compare in a quantitative manner the innovative performance of firms, sectors and countries

You must meet the following requirements

• Registered for a degree programme other than
• HBO-TOP Applied Physics, Pre-Master

• The Economics of Innovation: an introduction, by GMP Swann (2009)
• Additional material