Economic Analysis of Product Innovation

Economic Analysis of Product Innovation
Author: Manuel Trajtenberg
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 1990
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780674225404

One of the most striking features of contemporary industrial economies is their ability to offer an ever-expanding and improving range of products. Personal computers, tiny pacemakers, digital watches, and VCRs simply did not exist, and were not even dreamt of, only a few decades ago. Such product innovations play an increasingly important role in modern economic growth, and it is therefore imperative that economists come to grips with them, just as they have done with traditional economic phenomena. In this skillfully crafted and imaginative study, Manuel Trajtenberg develops the tools to quantify and analyze the notion of product innovation. He argues persuasively that the magnitude of an innovation should be equated with the social benefits that it generates. Drawing from the "characteristics approach" to demand theory and the econometrics of discrete choice, he presents an ingenious method to estimate the benefits from product innovations that accrue to the consumer over time. His method centers on consumer preferences for different product attributes -such as speed and size of memory in computers-and then uses those preferences to evaluate the changes in attributes. Trajtenberg applies his approach to the study of one of the most remarkable innovations in medical technology--Computed Tomography (CT) scanners. He assembled for that purpose an impressive set of data on every aspect of the new technology, from qualities and prices, patents and research, to details on virtually every sale in the United States during the decade following the introduction of CT in 1973. This close-up view of an innovation, quite rare in economic literature, offers valuable insights on the nature of the innovative process, the interaction between innovation and diffusion, the effects of uncertainty about quality, and the implications of changing preferences.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Author: Bruce A. McDaniel
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2002
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780765635167

This is a groundbreaking economic analysis of entrepreneurship and the development process for innovation. The author strives to distinguish the role of the capitalist from that of an entrepreneur, and to show how the actions of the entrepreneur impact new employment, economic growth, and advancements in the overall standard of living. The book provides in-depth discussion of several critical concepts: the economic development of a product; Schumpeter's temporary monopoly control; the economic bounds of product and process innovations; and changing production functions. It also develops and integrates an analysis of how innovation-induced modifications in either products or processes affect both short-run and long-run average costs in production. As a special feature, each chapter includes an interview with a successful entrepreneur, and suggested readings are also provided.

Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy

Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy
Author: Avi Goldfarb
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 510
Release: 2015-05-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 022620684X

There is a small and growing literature that explores the impact of digitization in a variety of contexts, but its economic consequences, surprisingly, remain poorly understood. This volume aims to set the agenda for research in the economics of digitization, with each chapter identifying a promising area of research. "Economics of Digitization "identifies urgent topics with research already underway that warrant further exploration from economists. In addition to the growing importance of digitization itself, digital technologies have some features that suggest that many well-studied economic models may not apply and, indeed, so many aspects of the digital economy throw normal economics in a loop. "Economics of Digitization" will be one of the first to focus on the economic implications of digitization and to bring together leading scholars in the economics of digitization to explore emerging research.

The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth

The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth
Author: Michael J Andrews
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 633
Release: 2022-03-17
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 022681078X

"Innovation and entrepreneurship are ubiquitous today, both as fields of study and as starting points for conversations among experts in government and economic development. But while these areas on continue to attract public and private investments, many measurements of their resulting economic growth-including productivity growth and business dynamism-have remained modest. Why this difference? Because not all business sectors are the same, and the transformative gains of some industries have been offset by stagnation or contraction in others. Accordingly, a nuanced understanding of the economy requires a nuanced understanding of where innovation and entrepreneurship occur and where they matter. Answering these questions allows for strategic public investment and the infrastructure for economic growth.The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth, the latest entry in the NBER conference series, seeks to codify these answers. The editors leverage industry studies to identify specific examples of productivity improvements enabled by innovation and entrepreneurship, including those from new production technologies, increased competition, new organizational forms, and other means. Taken together, the volume illuminates whether the contribution of innovation and entrepreneurship to economic growth is likely to be concentrated, be it selected sectors or more broadly"--

Innovation and Employment

Innovation and Employment
Author: Charles Edquist
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2001-01-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1843762870

This book is an important addition to what can be broadly referred to as the national systems of innovation (NSI) approach. The particular contribution of the book is in the examination of the employment effects of innovation, something only indirectly considered hitherto. . . It is a thorough integration of existing knowledge on the key employment implications of innovation. . . Rachel Parker, Labour and Industry This is a highly readable, non-technical book . . . a highly clear and well-argued book that should be useful for policymakers and higher education alike. It brings together much of the most recent and useful literature in the area of innovation, employment and related public policy. It is an opportune addition to the existing documentation on the subject. Journal of Economics / Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie Which kinds of growth lead to increased employment and which do not? This is one of the questions that this important volume attempts to answer. The book explores the complex relationships between innovation, growth and employment that are vital for both research into, and policy for, the creation of jobs. Politicians claiming that more rapid growth would remedy unemployment do not usually specify what kind of growth is meant. Is it, for example, economic (GDP) or productivity growth? Growing concern over jobless growth requires both policymakers and researchers to make such distinctions, and to clarify their employment implications. The authors initially address their theoretical approach to, and conceptualization of, innovation and employment, where the distinction between process and product innovations and between high-tech and low-tech goods and services are central. They go on to address the relationship between innovation and employment, using empirical material to analyse the effects that different kinds of innovations have upon job creation and destruction. Finally, the volume summarizes the findings and addresses conclusions as well as policy implications. This book will be of great interest to those involved in research and policy in the fields of macroeconomics (economic growth and employment), industrial economics and innovation.

Soft Innovation

Soft Innovation
Author: Paul Stoneman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2010-02-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199572488

Much of the existing economic literature on innovation has taken a particularly functional viewpoint as to what innovation might be. This book explores 'soft innovation', found in the creative industries such as publishing, film-making, advertising, and architecture, which has been, hitherto, ignored in innovation studies.

The Microeconomics of Product Innovation

The Microeconomics of Product Innovation
Author: Paul Stoneman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2018-02-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 019254862X

Economics has not given sufficient attention to the microeconomic analysis of innovation and technological change. Counteracting this imbalance, The Microeconomics of Product Innovation considers how the use of economic analysis can guide and inform the search for insight in the generation and adoption of new products synonymously labelled product innovation. Written in an accessible tone and restricting its analysis to the use of microeconomics, this book encompasses the definition of product innovation. It explores means of measurement and revealed patterns of the extent of product innovation; the economic analysis of the forces driving the demand for, the supply of, and incentives to generate new products; empirical evidence upon the determinants of the extent of product innovation; the diffusion of product innovations; product innovation and firm performance; price measurement under product innovation; product innovation and welfare; and public policy and product innovation.

Economics of Innovation: The Case of Food Industry

Economics of Innovation: The Case of Food Industry
Author: Giovanni Galizzi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642500013

Giovanni Galizzi and Luciano Venturini The food industry has been characterized by several and profound changes in its structure and competitive environment in the last decades. Although it is not a research-oriented industry, there is no arguing that technological change and particularly product innovations are crucial determinants of ftrms' performance and In recent years food manufacturers have accelerated the consumers' welfare. development of new products, by using new ingredients, processing and packaging techniques. Thus, food markets are increasingly characterized by competitive environments where relevant flows of innovative products, quality improvements and new technologies provide new consumption trends, food habits, market opportunities and ftrms' strategies. However, the issue of product innovation in the food industries has been rather neglected by economists. Few works have explicitly addressed this issue. After the pioneering book of Buzzell and Nourse (1967), one can count few contributes. Connor (1981) examined the empirical determinants of new food products introductions. Padberg and Westgren (1979) provided crucial insights about the nature of food innovation through their notions of consumer inertia, technological redundancy and incremental product innovation. Some case-studies provide useful empirical materials, but they are generally sparse.

Product Innovation Management

Product Innovation Management
Author: Stefano Biazzo
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2021-07-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030750116

This book offers new insights into the complex set of activities and decisions of product innovation management. It provides concepts, methods, and tools that can help accelerate the introduction of successful products to the market in an increasingly competitive and changing business landscape. It also offers examples and case studies, and it is the result of more than 20 years of study, research, and consulting carried out by the two authors in the field of innovation management. The book discusses the demanding challenges of product innovation and offers practitioners guidance on how to respond to these challenges. It presents a three-level framework (the “innovation pyramid”), which reflects the core components of a firm’s innovation capability: first, intelligence - absorbing information and knowledge from the outside world by looking beyond the familiar territories of the current market, technology, and customers; second, discovery - exploring opportunities for innovation through creative ideation and technology experimentation; and third, development - transforming opportunities into profitable new products and services.

Innovation Dynamism and Economic Growth

Innovation Dynamism and Economic Growth
Author: Masaaki Hirooka
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2006-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1845428862

I think this book is a great achievement. It is packed with useful information and thought-provoking analysis and discussion. The work on technological development is, especially, a very valuable original contribution to the work in this field. The book illuminates the technological trajectory so often ignored by economists, but which underlies Schumpeter s "clusters" of innovations, and the emphasis on trunk innovations and analysis of their role is of particular interest. Christopher Freeman, SPRU Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Sussex, UK and Maastricht University, The Netherlands This pathbreaking book addresses the economics of technological change as revealed by a unique methodology that uncovers the true nature of technological development. Masaaki Hirooka bases this new approach to the economics of technological change on the recognition of the nonlinear dynamic nature of innovation. In order to provide a richer understanding of technological development, the book focuses on the period of innovation prior to market launch, grounding the analysis within a distinct innovation paradigm. This is expressed using three logistic trajectories technology, development and diffusion which make it possible to interpret and better understand technology foresight, infrastructure formation, long business cycles and national innovation systems. The author emphasizes the importance of the timing of innovation commitment, knowledge transfer between and within these trajectories, and the evolutionary character of innovation. Those with an interest in economics, macroeconomics, technological change and evolutionary economics will find this book to be a highly stimulating and fascinating read.