Venture Capitalism as a Mechanism for Knowledge Governance: the Emergence of the Markets for Knowledge Intensive Property Rights

Venture capitalism is an outcome of the ICT Revolution, which made its appearance first in the US during the late 1970s and early 1980s and then in other countries including Israel during the 1990s. It explains the new pervasive role of small firms in the introduction of technological innovations and the rise of research and development expenditures in the US in the last decade of the XX century. Venture capitalism is a major institutional innovation based upon the identification of economies of scope in the transactions of technological knowledge bundled with managerial competence, reputation, screening procedures and equity. It has paved the way to the emergence of new surrogate markets for knowledge, i.e. financial markets specialized in the trade of knowledge intensive property rights with important benefits in terms of economic of size in portfolio management and hence profitability of investments in high-tech start- ups. The emergence of venture capitalism has important effects in national system of innovation of advanced countries, and it is a powerful mechanism for the production, dissemination and integration of knowledge in advanced capitalistic economies, and thereby a main driver of a ‘knowledge-based’ growth.Venture capitalism, Start-up companies, Nested transactions, Knowledge bundling, Knowledge intensive property rights, Market creation, Surrogate markets for knowledge, Knowledge governance mechanisms.

Venture Capitalism, New Markets and Innovation-led Economic Growth

This paper explores the new market-mediating mechanisms linking SU invention on the one hand and economic growth on the other. Two such mechanisms come to our mind under venture capitalism (of which venture capitalism is directly involved only in the first): 1) a systemic rather than haphazard link between radical inventions and the emergence of new product markets; and 2) a link between new product markets) on the one hand and invention & unbundled technology markets on the other. The first highlights not only the volatility and precariousness of the R&D companies which operated prior to venture capitalism, but also, and related to this, the weak links that existed then between radical invention and the emergence of new markets. There are two aspects of 2) above: 2a) derived demand for improvements in the product and process technology underlying a market (and industry); and 2b) a demand for a substitute, disruptive technology which could replace the existing one. In both cases market size signals the ‘benefits’ to be derived from improving or substituting the underlying technology.

Towards the Framing of Venture Capital Policies: a Systems-Evolutionary Perspective with Particular Reference to the UK/Scotland and Israeli Experiences

We compare some of the policies that have been attempted in Europe (UK/Scotland) and Israel over the past fifteen years to elaborate a new Systems Evolutionary (SE) framework for rethinking VC policy and related ITP. We argue that this perspective is useful for both real world (‘positive’) analysis and policy (‘normative’) analys is. Our SE framework is shaped by (i) a multidimensional view of VC; (ii) strong between VC, VC policy and the development of EHTCs; and (iii) a strategic approach to policy. In contrast, many VC policies in Europe up to and including the 1990s took a ‘static’ financial view of VC that focused on ‘bridging existng early phase finance gaps of innovative companies’ rather than creating of a new mechanism to assure the timely growth of EHTCs. We aim to present the new framework rather than to provide specific recommendations. The main conclusion is that the success of VC policies depend on factors such as the phase of evolution of (i) VC or related innovation finance organizations; (ii) the underlying segment of start up companies and of high tech industries; (iii) the specific country/region institutional setting. While in some contexts it may be worth considering the targeting of a new VC industry/market (and associated EHTC) in others the focus of policy should center in improving pre-emergence conditions. More specifically it may be, given that VC searches for ‘investment ready opportunities’, that ITP should, in many contexts, precede VC policies. Another key conclusion is that implementing this perspective necessitates the creation of a strategic level of policy, with a view of specifying a set of strategic priorities for Scie nce, Technology, and Innovation, priorities that should precede rather than follow policy design and implementation. A major challenge is to extend the present framework that was initially based on VCs oriented towards ICT to LS.

Reflexiones sobre la respuesta informal comunitaria ante la violencia familiar. Reflections an the informal community response to intrafamily violence

The members of any community have the option or the possibility of believing or not in family violence, of accepting it or rejecting it as a problem, of recognizing it or ignoring it and of responding to it in different ways. These answers can increase or decrease the sense of personal and social power of the victim to resist. Beginning with these pronouncements, the author develops his work. She analyzes different aspects of family violence and ends with proposal of guidelines for intervention and a minimum response by the people closest to the victim.Los integrantes de cualquier comunidad tienen la opción o la posibilidad de creer o no en la violencia familiar, de aceptarla o rechazarla como problema, de reconocerla o ignorarla y de responder de diferentes maneras. Estas respuestas pueden aumentar o reducir la sensación de poder personal y social de la víctima para resistir. A partir de estos enunciados, la autora desarrolla su trabajo. Analiza diversos aspectos de la violencia familiar y finaliza con propuestas de pautas orientadoras para una intervención y respuesta mínimas de las personas más cercanas a la víctima

Restructuring and Embeddeness Of Business Enterprises - Towards An Innovation System Perspective On Diffusion Policy

The paper deals with the policies for an idealized transition of a National System of Innovation (NSI) from a system reflecting a relatively closed industrializing economy to an NSI which reflects the conditions of a well-developed "Information Society" and "Learning Economy". The analysis of the transition process analyse the NSI from the viewpoint of the needs of the existing firms of the business sector. The problem is how different types of industrial and technology policy may help the business-oriented restructuring of the NSI. The policies are: horizontal support for R & D of advanced firms; SME schemes for laggard firms, etc.; new institutions and organizations for the cooperative production of new technological inputs, such as customized chips; proactive diffusion policies; and market building. It is suggested that policies should initially contribute to the self-organised restructuring of advanced enterprises. On the basis is this preliminary change in the NSI it is possible to turn promoting the restructuring of imitators and laggards which have less awareness and fewer absorbtion capabilities of the new technological input. The goal is to generate a cumulative learning processes about restructuring which benefit both the firms receiving support and other less advanced firms. In the implementation of the policies it is important to recognize the time dependence (need to exploit the learning potential from advanced firm restructuring; and the need to assure sufficiently strong system effects).National Systems of Innovation, learning Economy, Diffusion of innovation, innovation

LA RENTA DE LA TIERRA EN LA ECONOMIA POLÍTICA CLÁSICA: DAVID RICARDO

En este trabajo se hace una revisión de la teoría de la renta de la tierra elaborada por David Ricardo a comienzos del siglo XIX. Tras señalar que las leyes de granos que limitaban la libre importación de alimentos del exterior favoreciendo a terratenientos en desmedro de una burguesía industrial en ascenso formaban parte de las circunstancias que lo llevaron a elaborar un modelo que analiza la evolución de la distribución de los ingresos entre las “tres principales clases de la sociedad”, se presenta una descripción numérica y gráfica de tal modelo. Destacamos que Ricardo tenía como móvil de política económica favorecer al comercio libre. Pero que el libre cambio que propicia tiene que ver con las circunstancias históricas particulares que afectaban a la Inglaterra de su época: el hecho de que ese país fuese el primero que emprendía una “revolución industrial”

The contribution of non-verbal graphic texts to children’s early literacy development

This paper argues that non-verbal graphic texts constitute a bridge between spoken and written language at an age in which there is a gap in children’s ability to produce and understand spoken compared to written language. Non-verbal graphic texts are tools which may enable young children to build the concepts and skills relevant for early literacy development if, and only if (in my view), they are actively used by the children in relevant contexts. This claim is based on several studies carried out in the last decade by my colleagues and I on the use of nonverbal graphic texts by kindergarten and preschool children in Israel and England; calendars, icons, mathematical notation and scientific illustrations. Several studies support the claim that young children: 1) have considerable ability to "follow the rules" involved in using a weekly paper calendar; 2) are able to produce “scientific illustrations” suited for data recording in science problem solving and for communicating findings which they cannot readily express verbally; 3) are able to discriminate between the use of numerical and "writing" notation and their relations with functional contexts; 4) produce more extended and coherent spatial descriptions when these descriptions are supported by simple maps produced by them

Innovation and development

Includes bibliograph