Salvador Estrada

Technological Behaviour and Export Probability in Developing Countries The Case of Mexico

This article studies innovative behaviour and its impact on export activity. Our results show—for the Mexican case—that innovation is a method used to meet international standards and is therefore necessary in order to compete in export markets. This relationship has been observed in both developed and developing countries, although the exact configuration differs, probably due to the different role innovation plays in each. We used several sub-samples showing that different types of firms are associated with distinct independent variables. These variables could quite possibly explain many of the differing and often contradictory results in existing literature.

Research Assessment of Public Research Centers in Mexico: An Instrument of Science Policy

Despite numerous academic studies focusing on the design of research public policy and the impact on the mix of instruments few have searched on administrative registers of performance and budget assessments. This proposal presents an attempt of meta-analysis of these tasks as a mechanism of policy learning to achieve main purposes of public R&D centers, which can be declared as how to contribute to build S&T capabilities and to regional development and, as the same time, act as recipients to execute public policies and achieve organizational missions. In this chapter the case of Mexico is presented and reveals that research centers have provided grounds to diffuse governmental practices on results-based management and also for the appropriation of private mechanisms to evaluate and control performance. To the extent that public research centers are learning how to accomplish performance indicators, national and regional systems of S&T and innovation are still falling behind in resources spent and executed in total terms and by business sectors. High expectations have been created around improving their performance as a way to earn more resources through institutional mechanisms or market transactions. Reaching both objectives is still far. On one hand, public R&D sector as part of the administration is an average player in terms of efficiency and efficacy with a lot of coordination inefficiencies and in the other, it has not proved to be an active fund raiser on market, showing lags to steer and develop resources for transferring knowledge and technology.