Introduction to Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Development: The Latin American Experience

Abstract

Since the pioneering work of Solow (1957), technological change has been credited with explaining a substantial share of economic growth. Indeed, recent evidence for the United States shows that investments in research and development (R&D)—a proxy for the innovation effort of a nation—made up 40 percent of the productivity growth observed during the postwar era (Reikard 2011). Based on these findings, several Latin American and Caribbean countries have established and implemented public policies aimed at enhancing innovation. In practice, the first cases of explicit interventions to encourage innovation emerged even earlier, toward the end of World War II. Although many of these policies were either abandoned or dramatically downsized under the structural reforms inspired by the Washington Consensus, the disappointing results in terms of productivity growth have led several countries in the region to reintroduce policies to stimulate innovation and encourage technology adoption. This introductory chapter outlines the main trends with regards to the design and implementation of Science, Technology and Innovation Policies in the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region, highlighting both convergent and divergent trends among the different countries in the region.