Claes Brundenius - Böcker

Globalization, the information age, and the rise of the knowledge-based economy are significantly transforming the way we acquire, disseminate, and transform knowledge. And, as a result, knowledge production is becoming closer and more directly linked to economic competitiveness. This evolution is also putting new and urgent demands on academic institutions to adjust to the changing needs of society and economy. In particular, there is growing pressure on the institutions of higher education and research in developed economies to find and affirm their new role in the national innovation system. Their counterparts in developing economies need to define their role in supporting emerging structures of the innovation system. This book examines the role of universities and national research institutes in social and economic development processes. Featuring contributions that showcase initiatives and innovations from around the world, including China, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Western Europe, it offers timely insight that will be of interest to policymakers, university administrators, economic and social leaders, and researchers alike.

La mondialisation, l’ère de l’information et l’essor de l’économie du savoir transforment profondément les modalités d’acquisition, de diffusion et de transformation du savoir. Il s’ensuit que la production du savoir a graduellement davantage à voir avec la compétitivité économique et y est plus directement liée. Ce nouvel état de fait signifie également que les universités se sentent de plus en plus poussées à s’adapter aux besoins de la société et de l’économie, qui évoluent sans cesse. En particulier, des pressions croissantes s’exercent sur les établissements d’enseignement supérieur et de recherche des pays industrialisés pour qu’ils définissent et affirment leur nouveau rôle au sein du système national d’innovation. Les établissements des pays en développement, quant à eux, sont appelés à définir le rôle qu’ils joueront afin de soutenir les structures émergentes du système d’innovation.Ce livre examine le rôle des universités et des instituts de recherche nationaux dans le développement économique et social. En réunissant des textes rendant compte d’initiatives et d’innovations dans diverses régions du monde, notamment en Chine, en Europe de l’Est, en Amérique latine, en Scandinavie, en Asie du Sud-Est, en Afrique subsaharienne et en Europe de l’Ouest, l’ouvrage brosse un tableau qui est d’actualité et qui intéressera tant les responsables des politiques et les administrateurs d’universités que les leaders économiques et sociaux et les chercheurs. Bo Göransson et Claes Brundenius sont tous deux affiliés au Research Policy Institute de l’Université de Lund, en Suède. M. Göransson est professeur agrégé et coordonnateur du programme LEAP4D, et M. Brundenius est professeur honoraire.

The rise and expansion of organized scientific research has led individuals to become accustomed to an unceasing delivery of new scientific results and technical improvements that resolve even seemingly unsolvable problems. This timely book examines how science-based research and innovation is designed, implemented and applied in developing countries in support of development and poverty alleviation. The expert contributors trace and compare the emergence of National Innovation Systems (NIS) in four developing countries - Bolivia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Vietnam. Dedicated chapters on each country identify the main structural and organizational problems for improving the relevance and quality of research output for the productive sector, and conclude by offering suggestions on how the process of applying research outputs and innovations in support of development goals can be improved. Scholars and students of development, innovation and related subjects will find this book to be useful with its focus on national innovation systems. It will also be of interest to policy advisors, decision-makers and other practitioners involved in development issues.

The environmental imperative exerts strong pressure on polluting industries in the industrialised countries. Environmentally-friendly technologies are available but often at prohibitive costs. Using evidence from the copper industry, this book addresses the question of how polluting industries in developing and transition economies have responded to this challenge. Technological Change and the Environmental Imperative considers the extent of the success of polluting industries in becoming cost-efficient whilst acquiring less polluting technologies, in the face of fierce competition. The authors also discuss what has been the impact of privatisation on this process and what lessons have been learnt. Against this backdrop, and drawing on case material from Chile, China, Peru and Russia, the book goes on to assess the latest technological breakthroughs, and their possible future impact on cost efficiency and the environment.International organisations, policymakers and industry analysts concerned with environmental issues will find this book of great fascination as will academics and researchers in the fields of development studies, transition economies and environmental studies.

The book considers this question as it examines a range of countries where socialism (in one form or another) has arisen, or where democratic socialism could be possible, including Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Sweden and the United States.

No More Free Lunch

In September 2010, the Cuban government decided to embark on an economic reform program, unprecedented after the Revolution in 1959. This opened up opportunities for Cuban economists and scholars to participate in the development of the reform program. Thanks to grants from SSRC (Social Sciences Research Council, New York) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, several researchers from the Cuban think tank CEEC (Center for Studies of the Cuban Economy, Havana) got an opportunity to visit countries that could be of interest for the reform process, notably Vietnam, but also Brazil, South Africa and Norway.   The result of these field visits and a subsequent workshop involving contributions from Cuban as well as non-Cuban scholars, this volume showcases unprecedented new insights into the process and prospects for reform along many dimensions, including foreign direct investment, import substitution, entrepreneurship and business creation, science and technology development, and fiscal policies.  The resulting analysis, in a comparative perspective, provides a framework for future research as well as for business practice and policymaking.

This book examines the ways in which universities can play a crucial role in inclusive development, social innovation and social entrepreneurship. It aims to prove the importance of inclusive development and inclusive innovation on economic growth and demonstrate the ways in which universities can be pioneers in this area through initiatives in social responsibility and social innovation. For example, providing access to a university education without discrimination of race, gender, income status, or other factors would help to diminish the increasing income differentials currently being experienced in many countries, especially in the developing world.  The research and studies included in this book provide insight into possible actions that can be taken by universities and public and private shareholders in inclusive development, social innovation, social entrepreneurship and overall regional economic and social development.Innovation is currently considered to be themost important and dynamic factor explaining growth and development. At the same time, the traditional view considering innovation as having to be commercialized at any price is being challenged. Lately, there has been growing interest in innovation in the public sector, particularly with respect to social innovations designed to reduce income inequality. To address these concepts, constant exchange of ideas and information between research groups became necessary. UniDev (Universities in Development – the Evolving Role of Academic Institutions in Innovation Systems and Development) is an international research group with researchers in twelve countries interested in the role of universities in development. This book features the results of research performed by eleven research groups from UniDev country communities, presenting in-depth and comparative case studies from universities around the world, including Latin America, Northern and Eastern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa. This title will be of interest to students, academics, researchers, and policy makers interested in the role of universities in development, social innovation and social entrepreneurship.