科学技術政策研究：経済学系（Economic Analysis of Innovation）

This course discusses the functions and mechanisms of innovation systems and the economic assessment of their impacts, with implications for industrial structure and dynamics and societal challenges. Particular attention is paid to corporate strategy, public policy, and institutional design. Among the issues to be discussed in this course include models of technological change, systems approaches to innovation, research and development, intellectual property rights, university-industry collaboration, public policy for innovation, and case studies in various sectors. The processes of producing, adopting, and utilizing innovations are elaborated from a perspective of co-evolution of technology and institutions. Analysis of economic evolution is introduced, and its concepts and methodologies are elaborated to represent and model the dynamics of innovations. Systemic approaches are taken to discuss the functions and structure of innovations at the national as well as industrial levels. These theoretical frameworks introduced in the first half of the course are utilized to understand the mechanisms of creating innovations on various types of societal issues, including food, energy, chemicals, information and communication, and health. Implications for public policy and institutional design are explored for a transition towards global sustainability.