Claes Brundenius – författare

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.

In this volume, the authors reflect on the question “what is socialism” as it pertains to today’s economy. There is particular emphasis on democratic socialism models as a potential alternative to classic authoritarian socialism. A number of topical questions are addressed such as: What is democratic socialism and is it feasible, or even viable? What can be learnt from existing democratic socialist experiences? What would an ideal democratic socialist society look like today? Under what circumstances, and where, could such a model emerge today? In exploring these questions, several themes arise within these chapters such as the role of socialist values and inspirations in capitalist societies; and how capitalism and socialism relate to the knowledge economy. 

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.