Rasmus Lema

Technology Transfer? The Rise of China and India in Green Technology Sectors

International technology transfer is central to the debate about how to curb the carbon emissions from rapid economic growth in China and India. But given China and Indias great progress in building innovation capabilities and green industries, how relevant is technology transfer for these countries? This paper seeks insights from three green technology sectors in both countries: wind power, solar energy and electric and hybrid vehicles. We find that, conventional technology transfer mechanisms such as foreign direct investments and licensing, were important for industry formation and take-off. However, as these sectors are catching up, new ‘unconventional technology transfer mechanisms’ such as R&D partnerships and acquisition of foreign firms have become increasingly important. We argue that there is limited practical and analytical mileage left in the conventional approach to technology transfer in these sectors in China and India. We argue that the emphasis should shift from transfer of mitigation technology to international collaboration and local innovation.

Introduction to low-carbon innovation and development: insights and future challenges for research

This special issue seeks to bring together the fields of low-carbon development (LCD) and innovation studies. It contributes to the debate by addressing how the learning, innovation, and competence-building lens adds to the discussion about the development outcomes of climate change mitigation. The aim of this introductory article is fourfold. First, it discusses key advances in the debate about the role of innovation and competence building in LCD in developing countries. Second, it seeks to add to the debate by paying particular attention to the heterogeneity of developing countries in terms of the context and innovative capacity for LCD. Third, it addresses the challenges to policy arising from such differentiated starting points. Finally, it sets forth the insights from the articles in this issue and the implications for future research.

Low-Carbon Innovation and Development

In this review we use the concept of learning, innovation, and competence-building systems (LICS) as an analytical tool and as a framework for defining low-carbon policies and development strategies. Improved systems of innovation and competence building are essential to low-carbon development. The concept is a dynamic and interactive perspective in which technologies and institutions co-evolve and it indicates that policies need to operate on both the demand and the supply side. The key issues addressed are, firstly, how the notion of LICS can help us understand the challenges of low-carbon development (LCD), and secondly, a discussion of the design of support structures for the building of LICS that contribute to low-carbon development.

Growth and Structural Change in Africa: Development Strategies for the Learning Economy

This paper discusses opportunities and policy options for African countries seeking innovation and learning based development strategies. What kind of policies and institutions are necessary in order to transform the current increase in rents from commodities exports into industrial investment and upgrading of agriculture and agro-industrial development? This question is raised in the context of competing theories about economic development. On the basis of empirical patterns and theoretical considerations we discuss policy options in relation to the African reality.

Problem-framing in new innovation spaces: insights from software outsourcing

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Combining Innovation Systems and Global Value Chains for Development: Towards a Research Agenda

This paper contributes to ongoing work which seeks to bring together the national innovation system and global value chain literatures for the study of economic development. We depart from the view that such a new combination will be helpful both in enhancing understanding of socioeconomic processes in developing countries and in building a more useful knowledge base for action. To this aim, we combine bibliometric analysis with a qualitative review of work from both bodies of literature. The purpose is to inform a research agenda suited for policy-relevant studies of economic development in the global economy.Ce document contribue aux travaux en cours qui visent à rassembler la littérature sur les systèmes d’innovation nationaux et sur la chaîne de valeur mondiale afin d’étudier le développement économique. Nous partons de l’hypothèse qu’une combinaison si innovante serait utile à la fois pour améliorer la compréhension des processus socio-économiques dans les pays en développement et pour constituer une base de connaissances plus utile pour l’action. À cette fin, nous combinons l’analyse bibliométrique avec une revue qualitative du travail des deux corps de littérature. L’objectif est d’éclairer un programme de recherche adapté aux études qui sont utiles aux politiques économiques et qui traitent du développement économique dans l’économie mondiale.

Innovation Trajectories in Developing Countries: Co-evolution of Global Value Chains and Innovation Systems

This article investigates how combining global value chain and innovation system approaches can help to foster an understanding of the possible trajectories that learning and innovation may take in developing countries. Based on the wealth of empirical evidence collected in the special issue, we introduce the notion of the co-evolution of global value chains and innovation systems and outline a framework for investigating the interaction between the two in a dynamic perspective with multiple trajectories. We find that, in some cases, there is an improvement in local innovation capabilities with potentially positive effects on overall competitiveness, while in others there is little progress or even a loss of previous innovation capacity.Cet article explore comment la combinaison d’approches liées aux chaînes de valeur mondiale et aux systèmes d’innovation peut aider à comprendre les trajectoires possibles de l’apprentissage et de l’innovation dans les pays en développement. Sur la base d’une multitude de preuves empiriques collectées dans ce numéro spécial, nous introduisons la notion de co-évolution des chaînes de valeur mondiales et des systèmes d’innovation et décrivons un cadre pour étudier l’interaction entre les deux dans une perspective dynamique avec trajectoires multiples. Nous constatons que, dans certains cas, il y a une amélioration des capacités locales d’innovation avec des effets positifs potentiels sur la compétitivité globale, tandis que dans d’autres il y a peu de progrès ou même une perte de capacité d’innovation.

Outsourcing and the rise of innovative software services in Bangalore

Over the last three decades, outsourcing has had a big influence on the international division of labour. It is clear that it has been amajor reason for the enormous build-up of production capabilities in the developing world, in particular in the export platforms of Asia. However, we do not know whether the outsourcing of production and services from OECD to developing countries has triggered the transition fromproduction to innovation capability or not. This is the question addressed in this thesis. It examines this question by focusing on the global software-outsourcing industry and the supply platform in Bangalore (India), one of the most prominent cases of latecomer development in the global economy.

Collective efficiency: A prerequisite for cluster development?

This paper is concerned with analysing the importance of collective efficiency for upgrading of clusters. The literature on collective efficiency ascribes it a crucial role in upgrading in clusters in developing countries. Little, however, is known about how insertion into global value chains affects the prospects of gaining collective efficiency hence, the paper analyses if Bangalores insertion into global value chains has spurred or impeded collective efficiency in the cluster. Bangalore is considered a success case in terms of cluster upgrading in a developing country context. The paper finds mixed evidence of collective efficiency. Upgrading was mainly an aggregate outcome of an uncoordinated decentralised process managed by individual companies.

China–Europe Relations in Climate Change Mitigation: A Conceptual Framework

Despite the large-scale investments of both China and the EU in climate change mitigation and renewable-energy promotion, the prevailing view on China–EU relations is one of conflict rather than cooperation. In order to evaluate the prospects of cooperation between China and the EU in these policy fields, empirical research has to go beyond simplistic pictures. This paper suggests a conceptual apparatus that will help researchers better understand the complexities of the real world. The relevant actors operate at different levels and in the public and private sectors. The main message of the paper is that combining the multi-level governance and value-chain approaches helps clarify the multiple relationships between these actors.