Elusive Innovation

Why do some countries build innovation systems that foster learning, experimentation, and technological progress, while others struggle to move beyond dependency and stagnation? This book examines this central question through a multidisciplinary lens, combining insights from innovation systems theory, institutional economics, development studies, and global political economy. It offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the systemic roots of innovation failure in emerging and transition economies. It shows how fragmented institutions, weak absorptive capacities, and short-term policy horizons create persistent barriers to learning and capability building and how these obstacles can be overcome through coordinated governance, strategic coherence, and adaptive policymaking. Drawing on real-world examples and comparative evidence, this book is appropriate for researchers, graduate students, and policymakers concerned with innovation, industrial policy, and economic transformation in developing and emerging economies.