Title: Decentralisation of science and innovation policies in emerging countries: three key challenges that deserve further attention

Authors: José Guimón

Addresses: Department of Development Economics, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28048 Madrid, Spain

Abstract: Previous research analysing the decentralisation of science and innovation policies has focused on the experiences of developed countries. The objective of this article is to explore the implications for emerging countries, which have decentralised innovation policies more recently than high-income countries, but face more acute shortages of critical mass and institutional capacities. Building on the notions of multilevel governance, policy mix and smart specialisation, the aim of this exploratory study is to discuss three key challenges associated with the decentralisation of innovation policies in emerging countries: 1) finding the right division of responsibilities between levels of government; 2) implementing national-regional coordination mechanisms; 3) using regional innovation policy to reduce cross-regional income gaps. These challenges are illustrated through several examples and short case studies from different emerging countries.

Keywords: decentralisation; innovation policy; multilevel governance; policy mix; smart specialisation; regional innovation systems.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTLID.2018.091801

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 2018 Vol.10 No.1, pp.69 - 87

Received: 19 Sep 2017
Accepted: 07 Oct 2017

Published online: 16 May 2018 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article