This upcoming conference highlights the major and longer impact a Thinker can have on future thinking.
“The conference coincides with the centenary of the publication of Schumpeter’s seminal work, The Theory of Economic Development (1911). The conference will be held in conjunction with the annual Innovation for Economic Development executive program.
Schumpeter’s intellectual legacy
Schumpeter left a rich intellectual legacy of relevance to emerging economies and globalization in general. He is associated with at least four major ideas (in writings between 1911 and 1942).”
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“CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS
International Conference on
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
Schumpeter and Polymer Research
3–5 June 2012
Harvard Kennedy School
Cambridge, MA
Co-organized by the
Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, Harvard Kennedy School
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project, Harvard Kennedy School
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School
Contact: katherine_gordon@hks.harvard.edu
Chaired by:
Professor Calestous Juma
Harvard Kennedy School
Background
The aim of the “International Conference on Innovation and Development” (3-5 June, 2012) is to take stock of the relevance of the work of Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter for developing countries. The conference coincides with the centenary of the publication of Schumpeter’s seminal work, The Theory of Economic Development (1911). The conference will be held in conjunction with the annual Innovation for Economic Development executive program.
Although Schumpeter’s work was clearly framed to address the unfolding nature of economic systems, policymakers and development thinkers in developing countries are only starting to be exposed to his seminal thinking. Many of these countries now embrace the idea of innovation in economic development without recognizing that they are furthering the legacy of Schumpeter.
For example, a 2005 report entitled Innovation: Applying Knowledge in Development played an important role in guiding discussions on the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. But few leaders in developing countries associated the ideas in the report with work on Schumpeter. The ideas in the report have been widely adopted among developing countries and prepared the ground for a commemorative study on Schumpeter’s legacy.
Schumpeter’s intellectual legacy
Schumpeter left a rich intellectual legacy of relevance to emerging economies and globalization in general. He is associated with at least four major ideas (in writings between 1911 and 1942). First, he highlighted the critical role that innovation (broadly defined plays in economic transformation), especially through the dynamic process of “creative destruction”. Secondly, argued that technological innovation as an integral part of the capitalist enterprise and not changes in resource endowment was possibly the most powerful driver of economic transformation. Thirdly, he postulated that expectation of monopoly power was a greater source of productivity than the mere act of being in a competitive market. Finally, he stressed the importance of history and outlined the institutional forces that influence the pace and direction of economic transformation. In a posthumous paper published in 2005 entitled, Development, Schumpeter provided the clearest articulation of the theory behind his evolutionary thinking. He stressed the role of indeterminacy, novelty and discontinuous leaps.
Objectives
The aim of this conference is to convene a commemorative series of activities on the intellectual legacy of Schumpeter with specific reference to developing countries. Specific objectives of the initiative are to:
(a) outline the essential features of Schumpeter’s ideas of relevance to development policy and practice;
(b) elaborate the elements into a new study that lays out the policy implications of Schumpeter’s legacy for development policy and practice;
(c) explore the role of innovation in emerging engineering fields, specifically polymer research, in addressing development challenges such as agriculture, health, water, shelter and environmental management;
(d) disseminate the results among development policymakers, scholars, and practitioners; and
(e) identify new research directions on innovation and development.
The conference will also provide opportunities to authors to present findings in their recent books that build on Schumpeter’s ideas.
Indicative topics
Prospective contributors may submit abstracts on indicative topics provided below. The topics are only indicative and not intended to restrict the scope of submissions. Preference will be given to evidence-based papers that provide case studies of the role of innovation in development:
History and Theory
Innovation in development history
Innovation, entrepreneurship, and development
Innovation in Action
Product innovation
Process innovation
Market development
Natural resource utilization
Institutional innovation
Polymers, Innovation and Development
Advances in polymer research
Emerging applications
Implications for development
Governing Innovation
Innovation policy
New research and policy directions ”
arnoneumann 