The Role of Science and Technology Policy in Small Economies

Abstract

KNOGG, an EU financed thematic network, studies the role ST&I policies play in driving economic growth in six small European economies. It aims to develop guidelines at the EU level for improving knowledge-based growth in small European economies. This report sets the stage of the project, and provides a selective survey of the current literature on economic growth from the point of view of small open economies. Based on the New Growth Theory and Schumpeterian view of innovation, this report develops a conceptual framework for the project. The constraints imposed by country size and available resources as well as their implications for knowledge-based growth strategies are highlighted. Although ST&I policies in small countries may be more knowledgediffusion oriented, sole reliance on imitation strategies and foreign spillovers may lead to under-investment in domestic R&D and to difficulties to absorb new technologies. In this respect the KNOGG countries' past and current experiences in ST&I policies are rather mixed and diversified.Knowledge, growth, globalisation, technology, innovation