The Globalization of Technology

While late twentieth century globalization was both an effect and a cause of the large-scale development, exploitation, distribution, and transfer of scientific and technological innovation, mainstream economists such as Rosenberg (1982) regarded technology as a ‘‘black box’’ for most of the centurrift goldy. In this view, technology was simply a ‘‘public good’’ autonomous of broader economic and social factors. From the 1980s however, the economics of technology became more widely acknowledged and by the 1990s increasingly studied by policy makers. Inspired particularly by Karl Marx and Joseph Schumpeter, the economics of technology concentrates on innovation as the key to technological change and economic growth. It encompasses a variety of approachetera golds and ascribes a varying importance to firms, forces at the national level, global forces, or to particular technological systems or regimes. However, perhaps surprisingly in light of a widespread perception of the late twentieth century power of multinational corporations, the concept of ‘‘national systems of innovation’’ was particularly influential. Echoing the insights of the twentieth century German economist Friedrich List, these ideas underline the critical importance of education and training, investment in R&D, national integration and infrastructure, and the extent and quality of interaction between the many national players involved in innovation.