Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Soete, Luc
Author-Email: soete@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT, and Maastricht Graduate School of Governance,
	 Maastricht University
Title: Maastricht Reflections on Innovation
Abstract: "Innovation is good for you" appears actually the common feature of most 
	 science, technology and innovation studies over the last decades. This 
	 appears, however surprising given the fact that innovation failure 
	 rather than innovation success appears a much more common feature. Hence 
	 the simple, but straightforward question which will be central in this 
	 Tans lecture: could it be that innovation is not always good for you?  
	 A frequently heard argument is that at a societal level, innovation is 
	 renewing society's dynamics and hence leading to higher levels of 
	 economic development and welfare. A process of creative destruction 
	 destroying maybe a few incumbents to the benefit though of many 
	 newcomers. However, sometimes the exact opposite pattern: a process of 
	 destructive innovation, benefiting a few at the expense of many, will 
	 occur.  
	 In this period of "crises" examples abound of such destructive creation 
	 processes. In this Tanslecture some typical examples will be 
	 highlighted: our unsustainable fossil-fuel based economic growth at the 
	 global level; European monetary integration at the European level; 
	 financial innovation at the sectoral level.
Classification-JEL: O17, O31, O33, O43, F55, G01
Keywords: Innovation, Creative Destruction, Destructive Creation, Economic Growth,
	 International Relations, Financial Crisis
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 2012
Number: 2012-001
File-URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2012/wp2012-001.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2012001