Innovation Systems in a Global Context: The North American Experience

Jeffrey Moon is head of the Documents Reference/Data Centre at Queen’s
University.

This lucid and well-researched collection of essays focuses on the
growing trend toward integration of national economies in a global
context. In studying this trend, scholars have developed theories of
“evolutionary economics” or “endogenous growth”—the study of
historical relationships between technological change and economic
growth. These theories describe how society, culture, and the economy
have clustered to form “dense networks” or “systems of
innovation.” As defined by the OECD, these are a “network of
institutions in the public and private sectors whose activities and
interactions initiate, import, modify and diffuse new technologies.”

The book is divided into three main sections. The first looks at
existing national systems of innovation in the North American context.
This section will be of particular interest to Canadian readers, since
it highlights research and development systems in Canada, Mexico, and
the United States. The second section studies the creation of
supranational systems on a regional and international scale by focusing
on regionalization in North America, Asia, and Europe. The third, and
perhaps most interesting, section tackles some of the wide-ranging
problems (ecological, social, cultural, and economic) facing these large
systems. In this section, the complex interrelationships and
interdependencies among countries and regions are dissected. How has
Mexico coped after NAFTA? How do we explain spectacular economic growth
in Asia? What is the relationship between sustainable development and
technological innovation? These and other questions are investigated by
the book’s many contributors.

Each essay includes detailed chapter notes and references. Charts and
tables are well presented, with clear source information. An index would
have been a useful addition. Although targeted primarily at economists,
the book is accessible enough to appeal to nonspecialists as well.