Abstract
This chapter poses a straightforward question to which there is no simple answer. Political economists must be modest and acknowledge the ‘yawning gap in our knowledge’ of what really determines innovation, and concede that ‘we still have no satisfactory theory to explain [say] the higher rate of innovation in Germany than in the UK’ (Pavitt and Patel 1991: 368). Yet, technology policies must be judged by their success in promoting innovation. After more than twenty years of European-level measures to promote innovation — and with strong caveats about causes and effects — we may begin, at least, to answer the question: what has been achieved?
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© 1998 John Peterson and Margaret Sharp
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Peterson, J., Sharp, M. (1998). What Has Been Achieved?. In: Technology Policy in the European Union. The European Union Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27000-2_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27000-2_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-65643-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-27000-2