| Review of: | Research and Technological Innovation: The Challenge for a New Europe by A. Quadrio-Curzio, M. Fortis |
|---|---|
| Reviewed By: | John Anchor |
| Reviewed in: | Journal of Common Market Studies |
| Date accepted online: | 28/03/2007 |
| Published in print: | Volume 45, Issue 1, Pages 211-229 |
Book Reviews
The book claims that its central idea is 'to explain the importance of scientific research and technological innovation for industrial countries and in particular for the EU, in order to improve or to maintain economic leadership'. Section I, which contains four out of the 11 chapters (but 50 per cent of the pages) claims to provide 'a historical and theoretical perspective on scientific-technological innovation and its importance for industrial growth'. Section II claims to 'analyse the EU policy framework and strategies for R&D' and to 'present several national success stories both from EU and non-EU countries to confirm the theoretical prospective'.
The book suffers from the usual stylistic deficiencies of edited volumes. For instance, the first chapter, which examines the intellectual origins of modern economic growth and the role of the enlightenment in particular, runs to 64 pages and 186 footnotes. By contrast, one of the case studies in section II consists solely of nine pages and no footnotes or references at all. The content is also highly variable and it is not clear for instance why Chapter 2, which is entitled 'Local Systems and Networks in the Globalization Process', is included in the 'theoretical/historical' section while Chapter 5, which is entitled 'Second Thoughts on Innovation and Europe's Universities', is included in the case study section.
Chapters 3 and 4, which both deal with the dynamics of high technology clustering, do have the merit of some consistency, both with each other and also with some of the later case study chapters. The latter include studies of the locational dynamics of the US(!) biotech industry, the relationships between Universities, Research Centres and District Firms in Italy, as well as the Cambridge (UK) phenomenon. The case study chapters entitled 'EU Strategies for Research and Development' and the later one which examines R&D spending in Finland and Sweden plough a consistent furrow but one which is out of step with many of the other chapters, as is the one entitled 'Knowledge Capital and Economic Growth: Sweden as an Emblematic Example'.
This volume is less than the sum of its parts. The editors do not attempt much by the way of synthesis. There is no concluding chapter providing, potentially, a summary of the outcomes. However, many of the chapters are of considerable interest in their own right. For readers of this journal the case study chapters will be a particular attraction. While the somewhat grandiose claims of the volume can be safely ignored, the book would usefully adorn the shelves of a university library.