Elias Carayannis on Stimuli to Innovations in Europe and the USA

Free market or government interventions? This eternal dilemma is tightly interconnected with innovations. At the IV Foresight and STI Policy conference held by the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK), George Washington University professor Elias Carayannis spoke about the differences in this field between Europe and the USA.

Innovation policies of the two continents have evolved with both converging and diverging elements over time. Traditionally, in the US, there has been resistance to government stimuli for innovation. It was especially clear after the Reagan years in the 80s. Europe, in its turn, has had a number of incentives and initiatives supporting innovation, including the Horizon 2020 programme.

“The US is a case where the perception and the practice that prevail are that the market should speak for itself, the market should be listened to, the market in effect should vote and determine, select the innovations that will succeed based on demand from the market”, Elias Carayannis explains. “Europe has a slightly and in some cases a substantially differing approach, partly because of market fragmentation, and also partly because of less developed markets and ecosystems including infrastructures, and also mindsets and behaviors”.