Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
huge expenditures that only governments can afford, such as the various military
initiatives in World War II that led to radar, the atomic bomb and eventually nuclear
power, or in peace, the various spin-offs from the space race. In addition, there were
vast government expenditures in health studies and in supporting research into new
drugs. The failures in the industrial policies of governments to finance successful
innovation in particular firms, rather than in basic research, often make headlines
and are regarded as outweighing the successes. This led, during the conservative
revolution in politics from the early 1980s, to a decline in policies that attempted
to finance new innovations. However, the economic recession from 2008 seems to
be leading to a renewal of interest in sponsoring industrial projects by some gov-
ernments in the developed world, in attempts to create new employment. Yet most
authorities agree that the more effective government efforts come not from attempts
to pick industrial winners in innovations, but from two other indirect measures.
One is an approach that focuses on developing '
site assets'
, such as providing ex-
cellent infrastructure in transport, premises for innovative firms, rapid broad-band
computer linkages, educational upgrading, as well as research and development
funds (Viedma et al.
2001
). These are concentrated in cities, so such urban places
are helped to become better selective environments Another comes from what are
considered '
soft locational factors'
that provide a more supportive environment for
the operation of an innovator or firm, such as: effective patent rights; less red-tape
for start-up firms; no penalties for innovators who wish to start again after recover-
ing from initial failures and perhaps bankruptcies. The latter is a feature of many
ultimately successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, whereas in France and Britain
the stigma of a failure often prevents people trying again, or being unable to gain
new funds to support their research because of their previous financial record. Other
important factors include: flexible labour markets; removing restrictions to com-
petition; creating networks of innovation between universities and firms; creating
or facilitating institutions to link inventors with those involved in the development
and commercialization of products; and immigration regimes that do not restrict
the supply of top-quality people from other countries. In addition, it helps to add
competition to the state provision of basic research, through research councils that
make scientists compete for funding and leaving the decisions to award finance
to experts. All these types of policy do seem to be more effective than attempts to
choose specific firms to promote innovation, although their effects are difficult to
measure. In an historical context, Rosen's (
2010
) topic on the Industrial Revolution
in Britain came to the conclusion that it was not the presence of factors such as
abundant raw materials, military demands, or a Protestant work ethic, that were the
secret of Britain's early industrial success. Instead, he argued that the new patent
laws of the eighteenth century, which gave propriety rights to the inventors, were
a major influence in the rapid growth of inventions and innovations. So instead of
inventions being the pursuit of academics, or the bored rich, these patents allowed
creative individuals to profit in a spectacular way from the inventions they subse-
quently successfully developed and commercialised. Yet to identify one factor alone
as the secret of success may be an exaggeration, for the other factors were surely
additional influential contributory influences. Moreover there is rarely one path to
success even within a knowledge industry. Superficially the concentration of the
