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The book analyses the evolution of research and innovation policies in the world's leading countries. The last decade has witnessed a radical transformation of the landscape shaped after World War II, as described in the seminal collection edited by Richard Nelson in the early 1990s. Even though national systems have inherited different institutional arrangements and trajectories, analyses show three major converging trends in their public policies. There has been a retraction from support to large firms and programmes and a shift toward small to medium enterprises and the innovation infrastructure; the focus on public research and training capabilities is growing; and there has been a redesign of public intervention with the growing role of regions and states on one hand and multinational authorities on the other, particularly in the European Union.

The authors, all leading scholars in innovation research, provide thorough analytical descriptions of the national innovation system in their country and set that system in historical perspective. Each chapter is written so the reader can easily make comparisons between countries and regions. Six major issues are identified and addressed in each chapter:

• the dynamics of universities and their relations with the economy
• the evolving role of defence R&D and other large public programmes
• the growth of technology policies and the innovative capabilities of SMEs
• the changing rationale for government laboratories
• the growing role of regions in fostering innovation
• the capability of government to adapt to rapid changes in innovation systems.

This essential book will be of interest to scholars and students of science, technology and innovation policy, management, institutional economics and managers of research and innovation policies at a national and local level.