This major new textbook provides a comprehensive yet accessible
introduction to the economics of innovation, written for students with some basic
knowledge of economics.
G.M. Peter Swann contends that innovation is one of the most important economic
and business phenomena of our time and a topic of great practical and policy interest,
with widespread implications for our economy and society. This book engages with the
reader to explore some of the key economic issues concerning innovation.
Bridging a gap in the literature, this timely textbook addresses critical questions such
as: How should different aspects of innovation be described and classified? What are the
incentives to innovate? How should firms organize themselves to promote innovation? What
are the effects of innovation on the economy? Do governments have a role in supporting and
guiding innovation?
Introducing the student to a broad range of issues surrounding the economics of
innovation, this text will prove invaluable to students on a variety of courses including
economics, business and management, innovation, and science and technology studies.
G.M. Peter Swann OBE, Professor of Industrial Economics, University of
Nottingham and Director, Innovatixve Economics Ltd., UK
Table of Contents
1 What is the economics of innovation about? 3
2 Innovation in the history of economic thought 7
3 Basic concepts in innovation 23
4 Process innovation 38
5 Product innovation 48
6 Innovative pricing 67
7 Network effects and standards 82
8 Intellectual property 103
9 Invention and creativity 119
10 The entrepreneur and innovation 131
11 Organisation for innovation 135
12 Vision and innovation 141
13 Clusters and networks 147
14 Division of labour 173
15 The passive consumer and the active consumer 187
16 The diffusion of innovations 198
17 Innovation and trade 209
18 Innovation and market structure 217
19 Innovation and wealth creation 234
20 Innovation and competitiveness 247
21 Innovation and sustainability 252
22 Innovation and policy 257
App Supplementary reading 273
References 279
Index of names 291
Index of topics 295
320 pages, Paperback
